Merkel ‘can’t afford to bail out Deutsche Bank’

German Chancellor Angela Merkel cannot afford to bail out Deutsche Bank given the tough line Berlin has taken against state aid in other European nations, German media wrote on Saturday. The government denied a press report on Wednesday that it was working on a rescue plan for Germany’s biggest bank, shares of which went into a tailspin fuelled by a demand for up to AED 51.5 billion from United States authorities for mis-selling mortgage-backed securities before the financial crisis. Shares in Deutsche Bank recovered slightly on Friday from a record low early in the day after claims it was close to a cut-price settlement of AED 20 billion instead of AED 51.5 billion. Germany has previously insisted that Italy and the other so-called PIIGS nations – Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain – accept tough conditions as they tackle their problem lenders.