"Apart from that, the finance minister and state secretaries, as part of their mandate, are in contact with a number of actors in all groups of society, particularly in the field of financial policy," the ministry said in a statement.

German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung earlier reported that the finance ministry had held talks with representatives of Commerzbank and private equity firm Cerberus, one of the biggest shareholders in the country's two leading banks.

"As a matter of principle, we do not comment on individual talks," the ministry added.

(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Maria Sheahan)