VZCZCXRO1433
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ
RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHDF #0005/01 0141420
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 141420Z JAN 08
FM AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0110
INFO RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHDF/AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF 0126

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSSELDORF 000005 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIN ECON PREL PGOV GM
SUBJECT: VIEWS FROM AN EPICENTER OF THE SUBPRIME CRISIS IN GERMANY 
 
REF: A. 07 BERLIN 1575 
 
     ¶B. 07 BERLIN 1746 
 
DUSSELDORF 00000005  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified -- Not for Internet Distribution 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Senior bankers and regulators involved in 
the subprime crisis in North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW) told a 
Treasury delegation led by DAS Mark Sobel on January 9 that the 
crisis is not yet over in Germany.  After the bailouts of 
Duesseldorf-based IKB and Leipzig-based SachsenLB, senior 
regulators at the Bonn-based financial watchdog BaFin are 
keeping a close eye on the investment activities of one large 
private bank in Germany and NRW state-owned WestLB, which has 
suffered losses unrelated to the ongoing crisis.  Our 
interlocutors expect "more surprises" during the first quarter 
when annual reports will be published.  Bankers openly praised 
the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Fed for their timely 
actions, but were cautious in commenting on BaFin regulators. 
End Summary. 
 
Hindsight is 20/20 
------------------ 
 
¶2.  (SBU) During a January 9 visit to Duesseldorf and Bonn of a 
Treasury delegation led by DAS Mark Sobel, senior bankers and 
regulators uniformly blamed rating agencies and banks' heavy 
reliance on those ratings for subprime losses in the banking 
sector.  A senior WestLB executive summarized views, observing 
that "we've learned not to rely on external rating agencies but 
on our internal capacities."  A senior BaFin official agreed, 
stressing that banks need to develop their own independent 
models of evaluation. 
 
IKB Still on Shaky Ground 
--------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) A senior IKB executive told the delegation that the 
bank still must undergo more restructuring, including 
recapitalization and finding a new capital investor.  A buyer 
with deep pockets would put the bank in a position to do better, 
but if markets deteriorate "we are still in trouble," he added. 
In the last six months, the bank has tried to clean up, firing 
four of five board members, initiating a criminal investigation 
to determine if the crisis was a result of bad management or 
fraud, and strengthening transparency by changing auditors and 
accountants.  The IKB official claimed that these actions have 
worked and IKB has not lost the confidence of its clients. 
 
WestLB:  Consolidation vs. Privatization 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) West LB senior executives agreed that NRW Minister 
President Ruettgers is trying to retain control of the bank for 
political reasons, stating that he feels responsible for 
employment numbers and worries how the public would respond to a 
privatization.  They added that from an economic perspective, 
the decision to consolidate instead of privatize is 
questionable.  A senior BaFin official observed that WestLB is 
in a difficult situation, as the national savings bank 
association cannot afford another five billion euros to bail the 
bank out, which would then require the state of NRW to step in. 
The EU Commission, however, has the option to speed up the 
process of a possible private sector offer, he noted, if they 
were to reject the use of public funds to bail out the bank. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The delegation also met with another private sector 
bank, HSBC, which characterized itself as a "subprime-free zone" 
because it had largely weathered the financial sector turmoil by 
its tough risk-averse portfolio management.  It said the banks 
in trouble had no one to blame but themselves.  Senior bankers 
were cautious in their comments regarding their past and present 
relationship with BaFin.  They would only say that they are in 
close contact with BaFin, "who knows exactly what is going on at 
WestLB, even if the public does not." 
 
More Subprime Crisis Pain to Come 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) A senior BaFin official described the crisis as the 
deepest he had seen in his 35 years of practice and stated that 
"it's not over."  There is general consensus among both 
NRW-based bankers and regulators that annual reports to be 
released in the first quarter will shed more light on the 
crisis.  BaFin has encouraged banks to use the reports to lay 
out their problems, arguing that it is much better to get the 
pain over with than to draw it out over a longer period of time. 
 Preliminary reports from larger banks will be released in 
February, with final reports expected in March.  Annual reports 
from public banks will be available in mid-April. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) BaFin expects the annual reports to lead to the 
discovery of a few more problem cases, but has already 
 
DUSSELDORF 00000005  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
identified at least one more bank facing difficulties.  BaFin is 
keeping a close eye on a large private bank, which is "not 
burning now," but which may experience trouble in the near 
future as a result of its holdings of structured investment 
vehicles (SIVs).  BaFin expressed particular concern that the 
SIVs consist of student loans and credit card debt. 
 
ECB and Fed Lauded for their Interventions 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Bankers lauded both the ECB and the Federal Reserve 
for their timely and vigorous interventions.  One called the ECB 
actions "a huge stabilizing factor" and another concurred that 
the ECB and the Fed did a very good job at preventing a major 
crisis. 
 
Comment 
---------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) NRW banks and regulators are sitting tight as they 
wait for annual reports to be published.  The next few months 
will be key, which may explain why our interlocutors were 
reticent in their comments on regulations.  The delegation's 
meetings indicated that BaFin is focusing less on "lessons 
learned" than on the present and near term, on the grounds that 
the crisis may not be over.  For now, NRW actors seem to be in a 
holding pattern, hoping for the best, but bracing for more 
possible rough weather. 
 
¶11.  (U) This message was coordinated with Embassy Berlin and 
cleared by Treasury DAS Sobel. 
BOYSE