Stark’s shock exit from ECB yet another blow in a deepening crisis

THE resignation of the top German official at the European Central Bank couldn’t have come at a worse time for eurozone policymakers as they search for a way out of the deepest crisis in the currency’s 12-year history.

The ECB is the institution that has kept the eurozone afloat in the sovereign debt crisis and prevented a bond market meltdown.

Juergen Stark’s departure from the ECB’s executive board in despair at the policy of buying government bonds to prevent the crisis spreading comes as policymakers in Berlin and beyond prepare for the growing possibility of a Greek default.