*update @ 9;44am AFP reported Friday that the total fine would be just $5.4 billion.
German powerhouse Deutsche Bank has again unnerved the markets as trouble with US bank regulators for its selling of risky mortgages. The incredible $14 billion demand is raising the concern in Europe as Germany the European financial leader, and Deutsche Bank the largest German bank, which accounts for more than half of the German economy has seen a ‘possible run’ at this leading lending institution.
Deutsche Bank which employs about 100,000 rivaled US banks such as JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs. Simon Jack of the BBC reports today that only a few weeks ago the IMF stated that of all the banks big enough to bring the financial system crashing down, Deutsche Bank was the riskiest.The IMF further commented that DB was “the most important net contributor to systemic risks in the global banking system.”
Yesterday, DB was downgraded by at least 10 hedge funds including Millennium Partners, Capula and Rokos funds all withdrawing cash and assets, reports Bloomberg. Deutsche Bank has worked hand in hand with the Bundesbank to lead the EU but recently DB’s balance sheet was stated as $2 trillion yet it maintains a derivative book exposure of over $47 trillion. And the fire is spreading across Europe. What does this mean for gold?
Kirtco reported that in 2009, a year after the massive financial meltdown which left Lehman Borthers dissolved and a merger of Bank of America and Merrill Lynch, gold had climbed 24%. Is this escalating crisis in Europe pointing to another flight to safety?
“If there is a rush to safety, then gold is a top contender,” said Hamza Khan, head of commodities strategy, at ING. “There are also fundamental drivers supporting gold prices, including demand from the Russian and Chinese central banks and uncertainty about the U.S. Federal Reserve raising rates.”