BERLIN, Sept 13 (Reuters) -

The head of Germany's central bank said on Friday that

authorities would take a "very close look" at UniCredit's

overtures to potentially

buy Germany's Commerzbank

, a sign that any deal would come under intense

scrutiny.

The comments by Joachim Nagel, head of the Bundesbank,

are the most extensive by a top supervisor since Italy's

second-largest bank swooped to take a 9% stake in Commerzbank.

That move caught German authorities off guard and got a

hostile reception

from local management who want to fend it off.

Nagel, speaking in an interview with German Radio, said

what matters most is that business models complement each other

and that the resulting bank is competitive.

"The supervisory authorities will also take a very close

look at this," Nagel said.

A

takeover by Unicredit

would be a rare cross-border bank merger within Europe, and

the biggest attempt at a deal since Deutsche Bank and

Commerzbank briefly held merger talks in 2019 before calling

them off.

Nagel said strong banks were needed, a common refrain

from authorities and bankers for whom the tumult of the global

financial crisis and the stresses of the ensuing years are still

fresh.

"In this case, it will also depend precisely on how we

can succeed in ensuring a robust, strong banking market here.

And I am confident that the players here will act responsibly,"

Nagel said.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde told

reporters on Thursday: "Cross-border mergers have been hoped for

by many authorities, and it will be very interesting to see that

process unfold in the weeks to come."