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BayernLB, Berenberg join forces in battle for German business

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - State-backed lender BayernLB [BAYLB.UL] and German private bank Berenberg have agreed to a strategic partnership in financing and investment banking, the two firms said on Tuesday.

The deal will offer Munich-based BayernLB’s clients access to Berenberg’s equity capital markets services such as bourse listings, where BayernLB has little presence, and offer clients of Hamburg-based Berenberg access to BayernLB’s financing abilities such as corporate lending.

The deal does not include cross-shareholdings, nor will the business models of each bank change, the companies said. The agreement would see the banks combine small teams with the aim of completing 10 to 20 transactions together per year.

The accord comes as competition among banks to serve Germany's vibrant business sector intensifies.

Big U.S. banks like Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan have a strong presence in corporate Germany, in part through their ability to both lend and advise. French banks BNP Paribas and Societe Generale have also made inroads into the market.

Germany’s biggest bank, Deutsche Bank AG , is already a strong player among big companies and has battled over the past two years to expand services to the country’s small- and medium-sized enterprise sector.

Commerzbank AG , which ranks second, is another strong corporate player, especially with SMEs.

Berenberg is an unlisted private bank, largely owned by the Berenberg family and three partners, that is active underwriting equity listings and offering advisory services for mergers and acquisitions.

BayernLB, owned by the state of Bavaria and the association of Bavarian savings banks, is a big lender to blue-chip and medium-sized firms.

(Reporting by Andreas Kroener, writing by Thomas Atkins; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)