German minister warns of another global financial crisis

LONDON - 9 October 2017: German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has warned that spiralling levels of global debt and liquidity present a major risk to the world economy.

In an interview with the Financial Times, the minister said that there was a danger of “new bubbles” forming due to the trillions of dollars that central banks have pumped into markets.

Schäuble also warned of risks to stability in the eurozone, particularly those posed by bank balance sheets burdened by the post-crisis legacy of non-performing loans.

Schäuble told the FT that the Brexit vote last year had demonstrated how “foolish” it was to listen to “demagogues who say . . . we’re paying too much for Europe”.

“In that respect they made a great contribution to European integration,” he said. “Though in the short term that doesn’t really help Britain.”

Schäuble is to move to a new job as Speaker of the German Bundestag. He will attend his last meeting of the eurogroup finance ministers on Monday.