FT, you really believe Germany’s Wirtschaftswunder would be possible without the currently banned risk-taking by banks?

Sir, I refer to your “Germany needs to fix its economic model” October 11.

Therein you write: The International Monetary Fund this week rightly called for governments to take advantage of cheap longterm interest rates and borrow to invest in public infrastructure.

Frankly how can you say that when you must know that those low interests are partly the results of a regulatory subsidy derived from the fact that banks need to hold much much less capital (equity) when lending to the sovereigns than when lending to the risky like SMEs and entrepreneurs. Why would Germany not be better off getting rid of those hidden subsidies and let infrastructure compete for access to financing on equal footing as the rest of the economy?

Therein you write: “The World Bank says it takes nine procedures and nearly 15 days to start a business in Germany, respectively nearly twice and 50 per cent higher than the rich-country average.”

Frankly, don’t be silly, what is that compared to the difficulties for new risky businesses to have the fair access to bank credit that has been denied them by means of regulators credit risk weighted capital requirements for banks.

Therein you write “improving Germany’s economic policy would involve the government not turning its back on past success but returning to it. The Wirtschaftswunder (“economic miracle”) was based on high investment and productivity growth. Neither has been evident in Germany for many years.”

Frankly, do you think that Wirtschaftswunder only needed high investment and productivity growth, and not the kind of risk-taking that is currently being banned by dangerously sissy regulators?

No Sir, for Europe, and for Germany, what the first need to do in order to get their economies moving in a sturdy way, is to send the Basel Committee and their dumb ideas packing!