The German bank Hypo Real Estate (HRE) was granted a last-minute “multi-billion euro” credit line from a consortium of German banks that allowed it to avoid declaring bankruptcy, it said yesterday.
A consortium has provided the troubled real estate lender “a major new credit facility which is designed to shield the company from the impact of the current malfunctioning of the international money markets,” a statement said.
The unspecified amount was “sufficient to cover the group’s funding needs well into the future,” it said.
WATCHDOG
The German central bank and the stock market watchdog BaFin said separately that they “felt that Hypo Real Estate’s viability was thus guaranteed.”
The lender had launched talks with unidentified German banks “in response to the extremely challenging conditions on the international money markets following the Lehman collapse and other market disruptions,” HRE said in reference to the bankrupt US investment bank Lehman Brothers.
Banks that normally borrow money on interbank markets have seen that source dry up since the US subprime mortgage crisis erupted more than a year ago.
Institutions that depended on regular refinancing of their debts have found themselves running into crisis.
RESCUE
The daily Financial Times Deutschland reported yesterday that private German banks had been trying “feverishly” to find a way to rescue the institution, hit hard by the US subprime loan crisis that began in August last year.
The report said the bank, which is listed among Germany’s 30 blue chip Dax index companies, had fallen victim to speculation by its German-Irish unit Depfa.
The newspaper said Depfa had pursued long-term projects with heavy loans and generally ensured refinancing only at the last minute, which because of the global credit crunch was no longer possible.
TAB
HRE would have to pick up the tab for the refinancing, estimated to be in the double-digit billions of euros range, according to the report.
“It is highly unlikely at the present time that HRE will be able to come up with that amount,” Financial Times Deutschland wrote ahead of the reported rescue package.
HRE, incorporated in October 2003 in Munich, operates in three sectors: commercial real estate; public sector and infrastructure finance; and capital markets and asset management.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COVETED PRIZE: The US president would be a peace prize laureate should he persuade Xi Jinping to abandon military aggression against Taiwan, William Lai said US President Donald Trump should get the Nobel Peace Prize should he be able to convince Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to abandon the use of force against Taiwan, President William Lai (賴清德) told a conservative US radio show and podcast in an interview. The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer, despite the absence of formal ties, but since Trump took office earlier this year he has not announced any new arms sales to the nation. Trump could meet Xi at the APEC summit in South Korea on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Lai, speaking on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would severely threaten the national security of the US, Japan, the Philippines and other nations, while global economic losses could reach US$10 trillion, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) wrote in an article published yesterday in Foreign Affairs. “The future of Taiwan is not merely a regional concern; it is a test of whether the international order can withstand the pressure of authoritarian expansionism,” Lin wrote in the article titled “Taiwan’s Plan for Peace Through Strength — How Investments in Resilience Can Deter Beijing.” Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) intent to take Taiwan by force
RSS