Greensill Fall Brings Sub-Prime Echoes to Small-Town Germany
- Monheim am Rhein says it may lose deposits at Greensill Bank
- German municipalities aren’t covered by deposit guarantees
Germany’s financial watchdog BaFin shuttered Greensill Bank and asked law enforcement officials to investigate accounting irregularities at the lender.
Photographer: Markus Hibbeler/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The rapid unraveling of Greensill Capital has brought global financial turmoil to small-town Germany once again, and this time the first victim is the municipality of Monheim am Rhein.
The town of about 40,000 just north of Cologne may lose the 38 million euros ($46 million) deposited at Greensill Bank, the lending arm of Lex Greensill’s trade-finance conglomerate, according to a spokesman for the municipality. Other such local governments may be facing similar losses.