This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 FRANKFURT 003861 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR PDAS RIES, EB BAY, EUR/AGS, AND EUR/ERA 
STATE PASS FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD 
STATE PASS NSC 
TREASURY FOR DAS SOBEL 
TREASURY ALSO FOR ICN COX, STUART 
PARIS ALSO FOR OECD 
TREASURY FOR OCC RUTLEDGE, MCMAHON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EFIN EUN
SUBJECT: New Bundesbank President calms situation; 
ethics moves to the fore 
 
 
T-IA-F-04-0004 
 
This cable is sensitive but unclassified.  Not/not 
for Internet distribution. 
 
Ref: (A) Berlin 1385 (B) Berlin 1416 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Well-respected monetary policy 
expert Axel Weber was appointed as the new Bundesbank 
President.  A supporter of stability-oriented monetary 
policy, his nomination was well-received across party- 
lines and among academics as well as in the financial 
markets.  While many observers had feared that the 
federal government would take advantage of the 
opportunity provided by Welteke's resignation to 
increase its influence on the Bundesbank, these 
concerns were alleviated by the nomination of Weber. 
Meanwhile, the Welteke case appears to have increased 
German public sensitivity with regard to ethical 
conduct.  End summary. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Axel Weber Appointed as Bundesbank President 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On April 30, Axel Weber was formally appointed 
as the new Bundesbank President by President Rau.  On 
April 27, the Bundesbank board approved his nomination 
by the federal government. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Former Bundesbank President Ernst Welteke 
stepped down after the media exposed details about his 
(and his family's) four-day stay at a luxury hotel in 
Berlin paid for by Dresdner Bank.  Subsequently, 
Frankfurt public prosecutors launched an investigation 
to assess whether Bundesbank President Ernst Welteke 
"accepted an advantage" or Dresdner Bank intended to 
gain one.  The investigation is still underway. 
Initially reluctant to resign, Welteke stubbornly 
rejected criticism but eventually conceded when new 
accusations appeared in the media about a stay at a 
Formula 1 race in Monaco at the invitation of BMW.  The 
carmaker also owns a bank, which is supervised by the 
Bundesbank. 
 
--------- 
Axel Who? 
--------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Although largely unknown to the wider public, 
Weber is a well-respected academic, whose main research 
area is monetary policy.  He teaches economics at the 
University of Cologne and is a member of the Council of 
Economic Advisers to the federal government.  From 1998 
to 2002, he was director of the Frankfurt-based Center 
for Financial Studies, which has close ties with both 
central banks - including the ECB - and private 
financial institutions.  Reportedly, Weber is a 
confidant of ECB chief economist Otmar Issing. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Since October 2000, Weber has been a member of 
the Academic Advisory Council to the Bundesbank.  He 
was Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institutions in 
1992/93, and before that at the Center of Economic 
Research of the University of Tilburg and at the Queen 
Mary College of the University of London.  He is also a 
Research Fellow of the Center for Economic Policy 
Research (CEPR). 
 
-------------------- 
Where does he stand? 
-------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Weber is politically independent and has 
described himself as a "partisan of stability-oriented 
monetary policy". 
 
¶7. (SBU) At the press conference following his 
nomination, Weber stated that the Council of Economic 
Advisers' assessment of the current interest rate level 
last fall is still correct.  The Advisers found that 
the key interest rate was adequate given the exchange 
rate environment.  More generally, Weber argued that 
monetary policy makers should not look dogmatically at 
only a few variables when trying to control inflation. 
He stated that a range of variables, not only money 
supply, needs to be taken into account.  He pointed out 
that the ECB strategy was developed for the transition 
to EMU, without practical experience on how the 
transmission mechanism would work.  Although the ECB 
reviewed this last year, Weber considers the process to 
be incomplete at this point. 
 
¶8. (SBU) In their 2003 report, the Council of Economic 
Advisers - led by monetary policy expert Weber - 
welcomed in principle the review of the ECB's strategy, 
but qualified their approval by noting that the full 
integration of the two pillars ("economic" and 
"monetary" analysis) would have been advisable.  The 
Council also stated that a more precise numerical 
definition of the inflation target would have enhanced 
transparency.  More generally, it criticized that the 
methods used to collate all the information relevant 
for decision-making are not sufficiently transparent 
and understandable.  The report called for the ECB to 
further strengthen the role of its inflation and 
economic forecasts both in its decision-making and its 
communication. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Observers call Weber "pragmatic and 
undogmatic", fully in line with the "neo-classical 
mainstream".  He is against using monetary policy for 
anti-cyclical fine-tuning, but is well aware that 
interest rate policies have an impact on the real 
economy.  Weber has stated in the past that the low 
growth in Germany cannot be overcome by short-term 
impulses, but that there is a need for structural 
reforms.  This assessment is in line with the 
Bundesbank position. 
 
¶10. (SBU) When asked at the press conference whether he 
considers the current exchange rate system as 
appropriate, he answered that he finds this question 
"somewhat weird" and that exchange rates are the result 
of market processes. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Moreover, Weber stressed that the Stability 
Pact is still an important pillar of fiscal policy and 
must not be damaged.  He called for a fast reduction of 
deficits in order to restore the credibility of fiscal 
policies.  He is skeptical of proposals by some Social 
Democrats to introduce exchange rate targets or a Tobin- 
tax. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Weber also said at the press conference that 
the internal structural reforms launched by the 
Bundesbank are "absolutely right".  He suggested that 
it put more emphasis on its competence in financial 
market issues and lead the way in that area within the 
euro zone in the future.  Observers expect him to 
strengthen monetary and financial research within the 
Bundesbank in order to bolster his positions in the ECB 
Council. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Bert Rrup, also a member of the Council of 
Economic Advisers, characterized Weber as an advocate 
of rules-based monetary policy.  Rrup would not call 
him an "extreme hawk", but sees him in the Bundesbank's 
tradition of strict adherence to stability.  Overall, 
Rrup considers Weber to be an "excellent macro- 
economist, laying particular emphasis on empirical work 
rk 
and with profound knowledge of monetary policy 
institutions". 
 
¶14. (SBU) Weber is not known as an extrovert.  Even in 
his capacity as member of the Council of Economic 
Advisers, some of whom keep a high media profile, he 
has hardly ever spoken out.  His students at the 
University of Cologne characterize his lectures as 
"dry" yet "demanding". 
 
--------- 
Reactions 
--------- 
¶15. (SBU) The nomination of Weber was well received 
across party lines.  The opposition CDU, CSU and FDP 
all welcomed the government's decision, stressing that 
it is in the interest of the Bundesbank's independence. 
Both academic and financial market circles reacted 
positively. 
 
¶16. (SBU) Some observers, however, regard his lack of 
practical central banking experience as a weakness. 
Moreover, they claim that he has no experience in 
managing and restructuring a large institution. 
 
¶17. (SBU) Others criticize that the natural and best- 
qualified candidate for Bundesbank President would have 
been Vice-President Jrgen Stark, who was not favored 
by the government as he is too close to the CDU. 
 
------------------ 
Wider Implications 
------------------ 
 
¶18. (SBU) As a consequence of the Welteke scandal, 
Theodor Baums, law professor at the university of 
Frankfurt and financial market and corporate governance 
expert, was put in charge of corporate governance at 
the Bundesbank.  He monitors compliance with the rules 
of conduct for the Bundesbank board, laid down in the 
Bundesbank law, the contracts relating to regional 
offices and branches, and the ethical code of the ECB. 
Baums' nomination is to ensure an "independent and 
objective external monitoring". 
 
¶19. (SBU) Reportedly, the Finance Ministry insists on a 
clause in Weber's contract, referring to the strict 
rules of conduct for civil servants.  As a consequence, 
changes may also need to be introduced in the contracts 
of the other Bundesbank board members. 
 
¶20. (SBU) The recent events at the Bundesbank have 
raised public awareness of ethical conduct issues. 
Welteke's behavior may just be the tip of the iceberg - 
other similar cases are possible.  The public outrage 
over the Welteke case may thus lead to the 
establishment of ethical rules or code of conduct in 
the Bundesbank or other institutions or, where they 
exist already, to stricter enforcement. 
 
¶21. (SBU) Cleared with U.S. Embassy Berlin. 
 
¶22. (U) POC: C. Ohly, Economic Specialist, e-mail 
ohlyc@state.gov; tel. 49-(69)-7535-2367, fax 49-(69)- 
7535-2238. 
 
BODDE