Federal President Horst Kohler at the ZDF: ‘I ask the banks something more determined in the economic upswing to help ‘ New Ulm/Berlin, 23 July 2009 the pressure of leading representatives from politics, business and science on the German banks is harder. After the State has bailed out the banks with billions from taxpayers from the banking crisis and the European Central Bank is also pumping liquidity in billions of dollars at an interest rate of one percent in the banks and they still skimp on the flow of loans to the industry and the medium-sized economy, plans are forged, to force the banks to lend. “Reminder: the German banks had tightly laced packages with toxic in large quantities” purchased real estate loans from the United States, without its contents to know or to check. By the bursting of the housing bubble in the United States were banks on bad loans sit remained, the exact scope of billions is yet to determine today. As a result this worldwide Financial crisis has been the real economy into a deep crisis.
Job declines in nearly all industries and a dramatic fall of stock prices were inevitable. To preserve the German banking sector and the real economy from total collapse, the Federal Government launched a bank rescue program so far 480 billion from taxpayers. In addition the European Central Bank (ECB) has provided recently liquidity amounting to the record total of 442 billion euros the institutions at a rate of only one percent available. The adopted bad-bank regulation strengthens the equity capital of the banks concerned and brings additional liquidity. An aim of this measure is to enable to provide the urgently necessary financing in the form of loans, to support the economic recovery predicted to fall 2009 industry and medium-sized banks. Lending is the quintessential and most important task of the banks. These funds of the Federal Government and in particular, the ECB arrive but also from point of view of the Deutsche Bundesbank – not to the expected extent and not to the desired, favorable conditions in the industry and in the middle-class.
The banks currently much rather put the money in trading foreign currency, bonds and stocks, to improve their earnings situation, rather than to pass it on as loans. In addition, banks now higher collateral demand and evaluate the collateral at the same time lower, so that it is increasingly difficult for companies to get loans. Thus a real credit crunch suggests itself that can stifle a possible economic recovery in the bud. The WirtschaftWoche”reported a survey of the Association of electrical and electronics industry (ZVEI) among 1,600 member companies, of which in June 2009 after all, 57 percent currently feel a credit crunch, while there were only five percent in March 2009. Also the Neu Ulm real estate and financial services, Monarchis Grundbesitz company mbH, of his real estate to 100 percent from Equity has financed, observed the restrictive credit policy of banks. Because in addition planned investments for the first time partly alien should financed, are thus hardly possible. Politics, economics and science have recognized this dramatic development. Not only President Horst Kohler, Finance Minister Peer Steinbruck and economy minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg and IFO President Hans-Werner Sinn warned that the credit crunch could artificially prolong the crisis. The Federal Government is considering concepts, to force the banks to lending. More information under: