Over the past few months, governments have approved €3,500bn ($4,940bn, £3,430bn) in rescue packages for banks. Germany’s own package, steamrollered through parliament, amounts to €540bn – exceeding even the US measures. Still, in the eyes of many, Germany is not doing all it can to prop up the economy. To cap it all, its bank rescue package is hobbled by what could prove to be a fatal flaw.

Germany is more severely affected by the subprime crisis than was first assumed. With its substantial capital exports of €170bn in 2007, after China the country was the largest lender in the international capital market that the US tapped to finance its spending. As Americans stopped saving and used mortgages to finance consumer spending, the US took on more foreign debt. Recently US capital imports amounted to more than $600bn a year, a massive 5.5 per cent of gross domestic product, surpassing historical precedents. To attract the money, US banks created new types of securities, such as mortgage-backed securities.