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European Bank CEO Admits: "The Whole Thing Is Doomed"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/18/2013 11:54 -0400

As the European parliament attempts to create a budget and Draghi repeats how the temporary lull in European growth is merely a prelude to a growth renaissance in the second half of the year (not to be confused with the verbatim lie rehashed by European dignitaries in 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009), it appears a few leaks of truthiness are seeing daylight in the disunion. In a shockingly frank interview, the CEO of Saxo Bank describes the Euro's recent rally as illusory and that "the whole thing is doomed," as the continent is not supported by a fiscal union. As Bloomberg reports, Lars Seier Christensen says he would be a "seller of the EUR at anything near 1.40," noting that "right now we’re in one of those fake solutions where people think that the problem is contained or being addressed, which it isn’t at all." Confirming that the only thing holding the farce together is political not economic efforts, he sums the situation up perfectly: "people have been dramatically underestimating the problems."

Via Bloomberg,

Lars Seier Christensen, co-chief executive officer of Danish bank Saxo Bank A/S, said the euro’s recent rally is illusory and the shared currency is set to fail because the continent hasn’t supported it with a fiscal union.

“The whole thing is doomed,” Christensen said yesterday in an interview at the bank’s Dubai office. “Right now we’re in one of those fake solutions where people think that the problem is contained or being addressed, which it isn’t at all.”

...

“I’d be a bigger seller of the euro at anything near 1.4,” according to Christensen, who said he isn’t making any speculative bets against the currency.

...

“Another possible fallout is getting rid of some of the countries that are being ruined by being in the euro, notably the southern European economies,” Christensen said. “People have been dramatically underestimating the problems the French are going to get from this. Once the French get into a full- scale crisis, it’s over. Even the Germans cannot pay for that one and probably will not.”

...

Record Debt

Public-sector debt is at record levels, having more than doubled from 40 percent of gross domestic product in 2008. The European Commission, which is due to update its forecasts this week, sees it rising to 97.1 percent of GDP next year.

“It’s the political world that has been extremely supportive of the euro, not for economic reasons but for political reasons,” said Christensen, a long-time critic of the single currency who now lives in Switzerland.

...

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Mon, 02/18/2013 - 16:32 | 3253961 Venerability

Denmark's population would rank it as the 21st largest US state, between Maryland and Wisconsin.

Once again, Angela Merkel is not amused by this kind of commentary, just when the German election begins to heat up.

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 17:01 | 3254029 falak pema

what a viking cry baby; Sidi Kafir would be ashamed of him.

Pech Souleila: Sidi Kafir: Falakpema: Amazon.com: Kindle Store

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 17:18 | 3254072 rsnoble

Key phrase "Not supported by a fiscal union". Go from there.

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 18:38 | 3254210 Phoenix_Rising

It's going down

Greed taken to it's obvious conclusion

They're not going to hold this up much longer

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 18:17 | 3254215 Dewey Cheatum Howe

I'm wondering if I put together a line of toilet paper with Draghi, Bernanke, et al faces on each individual sheet how big of a seller would it be? Regardless how things shake out going long toilet paper is probably the safest bet you can make.

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 19:31 | 3254400 jonjon831983