Hypo/Depfa marriage met with scepticism

Hypo Real Estate’s €5.7 billion purchase of Depfa Bank, announced on July 23, has not been an instant hit. The deal unites one of Europe’s biggest commercial real estate financiers with the continent’s second-biggest public-sector lender. The managements of the two banks were keen to talk up the complementary nature of the new entity’s businesses but analysts have offered lukewarm assessments at best.