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120 bn total exposure is not the same as 120 bn exposure to government debt.

And if we follow the money, it seems to be british-german belgian conspiracy against Ireland.

by IM on Sun Feb 6th, 2011 at 02:34:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I can't see your goalposts any more, can you stop moving them?

Keynesianism is intellectually hard, as evidenced by the inability of many trained economists to get it - Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Feb 6th, 2011 at 03:05:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
But you are moving the goalposts. You are taking total exposure as if it is exposure to government debt. It isn't. The second number is smaller, probably much smaller. I never claimed there is no exposure at all. I just deny that all irish debt is public debt - private debt is rather larger and that all Irish debt is to german banks; the exposure to british banks alone is larger.

Also, most of this is Depfa/HRE anyway and this bank is already nationalised.  

by IM on Sun Feb 6th, 2011 at 04:02:45 PM EST
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Also, most of this is Depfa/HRE anyway and this bank is already nationalised.

The fact that the German government has taken leave of its senses and bailed out German banks does not mean that Ireland has to compound the mistake by bailing out the German government. If the German government wants a bailout, the proper place to argue that is at the ECB, which controls the printing presses. The printing press is where governments go to get bailouts in normally functioning fiat monetary systems.

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Sun Feb 6th, 2011 at 06:43:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]
120 bn total exposure is not the same as 120 bn exposure to government debt.

Why yes, yes it is, since Ireland took leave of its senses and bailed out their own banks, that's precisely what it is. Unless you are in the minority that believes that Ireland has a single solvent bank left with overseas liabilities. In which case I have a "competitiveness" reform to sell you.

It's this bailout that the "Irish rescue" - at usurious 5.7 % interest - is now trying to prevent from collapsing (as it should by any right).

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Sun Feb 6th, 2011 at 06:40:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Which is the best argument around that events are being driven by the very short-sighted German domestic political concerns of Angela Merkel and not by economic understanding or financial prudence of any sort. Given the situation and given the extraordinary willingness of the Irish government to attempt to swallow the whale of debt they have assumed, one would think that the governments whose banks are counter-parties to Irish debt would be more than happy to make loans available at zero percent and see how much of the whale Ireland could swallow. But no! They want to make 5.7% interest on the loan! They may as well drop a 20 megaton bomb on Dublin for all the good this will do in helping Ireland to attempt the impossible.  

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sun Feb 6th, 2011 at 10:44:40 PM EST
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I would suspect that most of the private debt owed to German banks is either owed by Irish banks or by  private individuals who are basically in slow-motion bankruptcy.

The IFSC complicates matters, in that some of the debt might be owed to branches of German banks there, for instance.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Mon Feb 7th, 2011 at 10:18:01 AM EST
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