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Tuesday 15 November 2011

Debt, Banks, Growth - pick any two

Your scenario of a new 2 speed European Economic Union of is wholly dependent on it creating growth - as in economic expansion permitting debt to reduce as a proportion of GDP. Unfortunately a return to assorted devalued national currencies will achieve the opposite as historical sovereign debt will still be measured in Euros and exports from the few remaining Euro countries (especially Germany) will be too expensive and trade will shrink not grow. The knock-on effect on China's exports would be significant - spreading the grief.

You can tackle sovereign debt, bankrupt banks and growth only by picking two of them to tackle at once not all three. There isn't enough money. Especially as regulation permitted European Banks to loan to European Community countries at leverage rates of up to 250:1 under the now miasma of "they couldn't default". Meaning banks are incapable of surviving either a default or a devaluation of currency by any of it's debtor nations (the equivalent of default). So given a choice of two out of the three the logical pick is to tackle sovereign debt and adopt policies for growth not austerity and let the Banks go under. Government then will have to cover the lost customer deposits up to a fixed value and not assume leveraged debt of untold trillions. This could be between 40 to 250 times cheaper than bailing out the banks. The retail divisions of the Banks would be nationalised to keep the branch doors open.

Alternatively, you could just run the printing presses and inflate your way out. This would, of course, destroy the personal wealth of the elite which is why we'll hang-in with the present fallacy as long as possible while they sort out a plan B. Primarily time to move their wealth into something or somewhere less likely to evaporate. Taxpayers will be milked to extend the transfer period of their wealth to a safer haven.  France will not be one of those havens - nor, probably, would it be a first team selection to remain in the new Euro given it's bank's exposure to Italy et al. The Irish, Portuguese and Greeks will sensibly default on their debts immediately they are relegated to the second division of Europe. This leaves you with Spain and Italy as the lead weight around the neck of Europe - sadly no matter what stroke they adopt the rest of Europe is likely to sink with them unless they cut them free.

However you cut it there is no elegant solution. The unpalatable fact is that we're in a Depression - a creeping one. Country by country until the tilting point is reached. Why anyone is surprised by this astounds me. We knew when the Global Financial Crisis struck that hundreds of trillions of debt were out there in the form of CDO and CDS and other assorted toxic, exotic, financial instruments conjured-up by banks looking to increase leverage to historic (lunatic) levels in the pursuit of profit and bonus - recklessly stoked by the Fed's cheap money window. Now we're looking to leverage sovereign wealth to historic levels to bail banks out of their atrocious bets, aka investments. Seeing that countries are vilified for debt at 1.2 to 1 then their ability to leverage at up to 250 to 1 to cover their banks' debt is less than nil. As is the belief that the solution to gargantuan quantities of debt is yet more debt. Pay off your credit card with another credit card.

Globalisation has exacerbated all this as with Lehman Brothers. Everybody cheated, either by borrowing more than they could repay or lending more than they could expect to get back. The choice is clear. Accept that the present financial structure has imploded and needs colonic irrigation or drown in an ocean of debt. Whatever the outcome we're not going to avoid walking around shoulder deep in shit for a long time to come. Although this may be more palatable than the present position of standing on your head in knee deep excrement.

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