Frankfurt  - German bank Commerzbank affirmed Thursday its plans to take over Dresdner Bank, rejecting speculation that earlier hit the Commerzbank share price.

Insurance group Allianz, the current owner of Dresdner, also said the deal was still intact.

"There has been no change to the plan," an Allianz spokeswoman told the dpa-AFX financial news wire in Germany. A Commerzbank spokesman said the merger would proceed "as planned."

Allianz stock was trading at 92.35 euros, down 2.4 per cent, just after noon on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Commerzbank bounced back from the morning speculation, trading at 14.17 euros, up 5.1 per cent.

Markets suspected that Allianz was uneasy about the deal after this week's steep plunge in value of bank stocks.

When announced, the takeover valued Dresdner at 9.8 billion euros, but Allianz is only to receive a quarter of that in cash, with the rest in shares.

It will hold nearly 30 per cent of the merged bank, but has said it does not want more, or otherwise it would be legally obliged to post a buyout offer to the remaining shareholders in Commerzbank. (dpa)