Brussels, 16/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has given the go-head for a joint venture between Germany's Commerzbank and AMB, a German insurer controlled by Generali of Italy, which will distribute the parent companies' insurance and retail banking products in Germany. Under the agreement, AMB's insurance and life-insurance products will be distributed through Commerzbank's agencies while Commerzbank's banking products will be sold through the AMB Group's network. The Commission's examination of the joint venture led it to conclude that the agreement did not appreciably restrict competition within the common market since the activities of the two companies present only very small overlaps. Rather, the co-operation between AMB and Commerzbank appears likely to increase competition, inter alia by creating additional distribution outlets for the respective insurance and banking products. In addition, AMB and Commerzbank will face strong competition from other bancassurance suppliers, such as the new Allianz/Dresdner entity, Germany's recently created largest bancassurance group.