BERLIN (Reuters) – Commerzbank Chief Executive Manfred Knof on Tuesday played down prospects of a possible merger with larger rival Deutsche Bank, saying such a tie-up was not under discussion at his bank and he was striving to keep the bank independent. The comments come amid heightened speculation that merger talks with Deutsche – which failed in 2019 – could once again come to the fore. “So I think this is always a topic more for journalists and the media – but not for us,” he told Reuters when asked about a possible tie-up with Deutsche on the sidelines of a conference organized by Die Wel…