BERLIN, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The German government should

hold onto its Commerzbank share and reflect calmly on

the situation, the German lender's finance chief said on

Tuesday.

UniCredit bought last week a 9% stake in one of

Germany's largest banks but Berlin still owns a 12% stake in the

lender.

"We have all been very surprised by the process," CFO

Bettina Orlopp told journalists at a startup summit in Berlin.

"That's why the most important thing now is simply to sort it

out calmly, to think about what's on the table now and how to

deal with it."

The bank is "on an excellent path," according to its CFO,

expecting another record year in 2024.

All the options on the table must be evaluated from the

perspective of all stakeholders: shareholders, customers and

employees, the CFO said.

Asked about the potential synergies of merging with an

European partner, Orlopp declined to comment.

Commerzbank CEO

Manfred Knof snubbed overtures for a takeover by UniCredit,

saying on Monday he had his own plans for the bank and hoped it

could stay independent.