German Economists Warn Against Greek Exit From Euro, Welt Says

Commerzbank AG (CBK) Chief Economist Joerg Kraemer said it would be “economic suicide” for Greece to return to the drachma, which would prompt a run on local banks to withdraw euros, Welt reported, citing an interview.

Thomas Mayer, chief economist at Deutsche Bank AG, said a Greek exit from the euro region would lead to a crisis in Europe’s political and currency union and could cause a bank run in some EU countries, the newspaper said.

Thomas Straubhaar, head of the Hamburg-based HWWI economic institute, told the newspaper a euro exit could force Greece into bankruptcy and cause a “domino effect” like the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

To contact the reporter on this story: Aaron Kirchfeld in Frankfurt at akirchfeld@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Frank Connelly at fconnelly@bloomberg.net; Edward Evans at eevans3@bloomberg.net