> Europe's banks are in worse
> shape than the US's, with lower reserves and returns on equity--Commerzbank
> and CSG are in horrible shape. (See yesterday's WSJ.) And growth has been
> anemic--Germany, its largest economy, is also its weakest.
No, no, this is the WSJ editorial board at work. Ever since Schroeder's victory, the Journal has been peddling this constant "Germany as sick man of Europe" line, about how unions and environment regs are destroying the German economy. German banks are notoriously for carrying lots of hidden reserves, so Commerzbank may or may not be in trouble; they do have a pretty secure lifeline, in the form of an EU banking alliance. But the EU banking system is quite solid as a whole - telecom loans are a small share of the entire system, e.g., and the large banks are globally diversified, and backed by activist governments, who routinely tell the global market to go f&^% itself. The EU banking system is more profitable and secure than it was in 1990-93, for sure.
-- Dennis
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