STAFF NEWS & ANALYSIS

Worldwide Container Woes Now Hitting German Banks

By Daily Bell Staff – January 23, 2017

Shipping crisis puts German banks under pressure … The flailing container shipping industry is a massive problem for state banks, particularly in northern Germany. Some fear that skyrocketing risk provisions may cost taxpayers billions of euros.   A report published on Sunday by German public broadcaster ARD has suggested that the northern German states of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein may have to offer up to 20 billion euros ($21.4 billion) in credit guarantees to prop up banks with bad investments in container shipping. – DW.com

This was inevitable, perhaps, but still adds considerably to German bank woes. The difficult shipping industry is foundering worldwide, as can be seen by the low prices it is currently charging for the little traffic that is moving between countries. But now not only