The Most Dangerous Banker in the World

June 14, 2011 - PRLog -- In May this year, Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Josef Ackermann appeared in a Munich court to testify in a lawsuit against the bank by fallen German media mogul Leo Kirch.
The spat: Kirch wants 2 billion Euros from the bank he alleges triggered the Kirch Group’s collapse by questioning the creditworthiness of his media empire in a 2002 Bloomberg Television interview.

Ackermann is the main witness. And 84 year old, virtually blind Kirch has had little luck claiming damages. You don’t want to mess with this guy.

Now, he’s at the forefront of the European sovereign debt crisis as European Union policy makers clash over how to prevent the currency region’s default after 256 billion Euros in bailouts to Greece, Ireland and Portugal failed to stop the debt crisis.

Deutsche Bank had sovereign risks worth 1.6 billion euros tied to Greece. In the last 12 months, the bank’s shares have fallen 3.3 percent.

Ackermann says,

”We believe there is still significant upside potential in the bank’s share price” and “Despite all adversities, we can look ahead to the future with great confidence”


Reiterating the bank’s full year operating profit target of 10 billion euros helped by gains in investment banking and expansion in Asia where the bank aims to be among the top 3 in the region.

But the high targets in time of crisis can only mean one thing: encourage bankers and traders to take more risks and employ lots of leverage to fuel profits.

Some economists say, only banks that know they would be rescued if they ran into trouble (Too Big To Fail) would take such risks.

Read the rest of the article at: http://www.economywatch.com/economy-business-and-finance-...

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