Spanish bank hits back at Germany

Germany must accept its fate as the euro’s financial backstop or quit meddling in how indebted members revive their economies, one of Spain’s leading fund firms has said, in remarks likely to stoke fears of a Mediterranean backlash against austerity.

The chief executive of March Gestion de Fondos, José Luis Jiménez Guajardo- Fajardo, the asset management arm of Banca March, said that he sometimes felt Germany had a vested interest in an unsettled Europe and was cashing in on bailout nerves.

“Of course Germany is taking profit from this. They are paying less for their debt than ever. Because the euro is once again weak, this is very helpful for German exports abroad,” Jiménez said, calling on the country to take a back seat role in formulating the economic policy of peripheral strugglers.