The financial crisis intensified considerably more in September and manifested in many countries that it had not yet touched, which led to grave concerns about the stability of the global financial system itself. The shocks to confidence and to the availability of credit that followed the intensification of the crisis last fall have contributed to a substantial further weakening in global economic activity.
At a Bundesbank conference some weeks ago he said: “This issue must be put on the political agenda.” Meanwhile, he will need to persuade his colleagues in the more highly indebted countries; after all, zero-weighting is a major selling point for government bonds, including those with a lower credit rating.