Deutsche Bank AG’s crashing share price is prompting takeover speculation from unexpected places. 

Yigit Bulut, a chief adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said the country must consider using a new wealth fund or a group of state-owned banks to buy the Frankfurt-based company. Bulut made the proposal on Tuesday via his Twitter account, saying Germany’s largest lender should be made into a Turkish bank.

The stock of Europe’s biggest investment bank has slumped by more than 50 percent over the past year, falling to a record low on Tuesday, over concerns about its weakening financial position and penalties in the U.S. tied to mortgage-backed securities. Bulut’s comments come after Moody’s Investors Service on Sept. 23 cut Turkey to junk, citing slowing economic growth and deteriorating credit fundamentals.

"For months on TV programs, I’ve been calling on Turkey’s private and public capital: ‘Some very good companies in the EU are going to fall into trouble and we need to be ready to buy a controlling stake in them,’” Bulut wrote on Twitter. "Wouldn’t you be happy to make Germany’s biggest bank into Turkish Bank!!"

The suggestion may ignite political opposition in Germany, where Deutsche Bank -- for all its troubles -- has long been viewed as a national champion and has played an integral role in Germany’s economy.

David Fuller's view

What a metaphorical slap in the face for Angela Merkel.  Cheeky Yigit Bulut, chief adviser to Turkish President Erdogan wants to buy Germany’s ailing flagship bank.  Diplomatic relations between Turkey and the EU in general and Germany in particular have deteriorated significantly in the last year. 

Turkey was paid billions of Euros to keep another huge wave of Middle Eastern and North African migrants out of the EU.  Erdogan wanted unrestricted access to the EU for Turkish citizens and was told no.  Furthermore, various EU leaders, including the UK’s David Cameron before he stood down as Prime Minister after losing the Brexit referendum, had competed with each other in saying that Turkey had no chance of joining the EU for at least a hundred years. 

For Erdogan, this has been the equivalent of saying: we want you to keep our borders clean but your citizens cannot have unrestricted passage in our countries and you might as well not try to join our EU.  I fear it will be a long time before diplomatic relations improve.