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September 25, 2008

Germany: The Trouble is the "Anglo-Saxon" Banking Model

As much I'm happy to criticize the deranged U.S. for this ongoing credit market fiasco, the following quote from a German finance minister Peer Steinbrueck frankly pisses me off:

He championed the German banking system over its U.S. counterpart, dismissing the "Anglo-Saxon'' model as having "an exaggerated fixation on returns.''

[via Bloomberg]

Right, as opposed to the Teutonic banking system's fixation on what, nice drapes? Maybe he hasn't been paying attention, but his lovely German banking system arguably been hit harder than any other European country's banks with respect to subprime, Lehman exposure, etc. If that wasn't driven by an exaggerated fixation on returns, what was it?

More reading:

• German State-Owned Banks on Verge of Collapse (Spiegel)
• Will Bigger But Fewer Mean Better ? (Spiegel)

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