, Columnist
France to Rescue a German Bank? That's Gotta Hurt
Commerzbank tells us a lot about the country's finance industry weakness.
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Germany towers above its euro zone partners in economic terms, regularly lecturing others about their finances. The irony is that the German banking system is in dire need of a clean-up. It has 1,800 lenders struggling with negative interest rates and restructuring costs. Politicians and regulators know change is needed -- and mergers.
The problem is finding a buyer willing to tackle painful restructuring. With no national market leader to speak of, foreign buyers are the only show in town. But they face execution risks, regulatory uncertainty and twitchy politicians.