What are the Germans trying to hide? That is a question which has been furtively muttered in several European capitals, as the implications of a recent tussle about bank reform have sunk in.

European finance ministers agreed this week to reform bank capital and accounting rules. And while many of the technical details of this reform are complex, and thus likely to excite only geeks, what has grabbed attention – even from non-geeks – is that Germany used this debate to lobby for a temporary loosening of the bank capital and accounting rules.