Good news, the money wasn't in the mattress we threw out

[Lighthawk]

Germany finds extra 55bn euros after accounting error

Germany has found itself 55bn euros ($78bn; £48bn) richer after discovering an accounting error at Hypo Real Estate (HRE), the troubled bank it nationalised in 2009.

The country now expects its ratio of debt to GDP to be 81.1% for 2011, 2.6 percentage points lower than previously forecast, the finance ministry said.

The miscalculation was at the so-called bad bank of HRE, FMS Wertmanagement.

The discovery was made earlier this month but only announced on Friday.

FMS will contribute about 161bn euros to Germany's debt this year, compared with 216.5bn in 2010.
Cutting back

HRE faced a severe liquidity shortage in the wake of US banking giant Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy in 2008.

The German government provided the bank with capital injections of 10bn euros and liquidity guarantees amounting to 145 billion euros before nationalising it.

This summer, the European Commission approved 175bn euros of aid to HRE in return for major cuts in its activities.

HRE will phase out all of its businesses except in its core bank Deutsche Pfandbriefbank.

Source

[McAvoy]

I am taking it as 55 billion euros.

How the hell do you lose 55 billion?

[Captain Seafort]

I am taking it as 55 billion euros.

Given that that's what it explicitly says, what else could it be?

How the hell do you lose 55 billion?

Easily. That's loose change for any major economy.

[McAvoy]

I am taking it as 55 billion euros.

Given that that's what it explicitly says, what else could it be?

How the hell do you lose 55 billion?

Easily. That's loose change for any major economy.

Ok.

[Mikey]

It's not quite loose change for any major economy, but I get your point, Seafort. However, we're not talking about 55 bil being lost amidst a major economy - we're talking about 55 bil being lost amidst a single housing-futures venture provider cum sub-prime mortgage collabo issuer.