Moin moin,
der internationale Spiegel zur Krise der IKB vom 20.02.2008:
ZitatAlles anzeigenWORST FINANCIAL CRISIS SINCE 1931?
By Wolfgang Reuter
The German government has had to bail out state-owned banks with taxpayers' money after their
managements recklessly gambled away billions on subprime investments. But if a state-owned bank
were to go under, the consequences could be disastrous for the whole economy.
.......Matthäus-Maier's bank KfW has already had to provide IKB with close to €5 billion in a series of
three bailouts. With KfW itself gradually running out of cash, the federal government has now
contributed another €1.9 billion.
The state of North Rhine-Westphalia has injected €1 billion into WestLB, another state-owned bank, as
well as providing the ailing bank with another €3 billion in loan guarantees. The situation is even worse
in Saxony, where the state has issued €2.73 billion in loan guarantees to Sachsen LB, that state's
Landesbank, as Germany's state-backed regional banks are known. The other state-owned banks are
providing another €14 billion in guarantees. Hamburg-based HSH Nordbank urgently needs €1 billion
in fresh capital, while BayernLB last week reported a €1.9 billion write-down as a result of subprime
exposure. BayernLB announced Tuesday that the bank's chief executive, Werner Schmidt, will be
stepping down as of March 1 as a result of the crisis.
The situation for Germany's public banks has become so dramatic that it threatens to topple what has
been one of the key pillars of the country's banking system. The state-owned banks are supposed to
bail each other out when necessary, but the problem is that many are in trouble themselves and hardly
in a position to help their peers. And things could get even worse.
If an industry giant like WestLB were forced to its knees -- which almost happened two weeks ago -- at
least two other state-owned banks and a dozen savings and loan associations would crumple along
with it. The member banks of the German Savings Banks Finance Group (Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe)
are closely interlinked, and they are required to vouch for each other -- as long as they are in a position
to do so, that is. The failure of a major state-owned bank like WestLB would also inevitably affect
corporate customers, even forcing some into bankruptcy.
.....In the end, the federal government and private banks came up with the funds for the bailout. For
Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück, it was critical that IKB not be allowed to go under. The bankruptcy of
a bank with such a high credit rating would trigger an unprecedented loss of confidence in the German
financial market. In addition, a number of other banks had deposits at IKB worth a total of €18
billion.
<http://www.spiegel.de/internat…2C1518%2C536635%2C00.html>
Klare Worte!
Gruß
Vatapitta