Deutsche Bank's corporate spying probe is not the only mystery in German banking. Not so long ago, Berlin depicted the financial crisis as an Anglo-Saxon problem. Even as Berlin took a 25 per cent stake in Commerzbank and rescued Hypo Real Estate, finance minister Peer Steinbrück railed at state aid provided to banks elsewhere. Then he dismissed other countries' stress tests as worthless. In some ways, Mr Steinbrück's insouciance was understandable. Unlike elsewhere, German credit continued to expand – at least until the start of this year.
针对德意志银行(Deutsche Bank)涉嫌企业监控的调查，并非德国银行业的唯一谜团。就在不久前，德国政府还将金融危机描述为英美两国问题。甚至当德国政府购入德国商业银行(Commerzbank) 25%的股份，并为Hypo Real Estate纾困之际，德国财政部长佩尔·施泰因布吕克(Peer Steinbrück)还在斥责其它国家为银行提供政府援助的行为。其后，他又把它国的压力测试贬为毫无价值。从某些方面来看，施泰因布吕克的高枕无忧是可以理解的。与其它国家不同，德国的信贷持续扩张——至少到今年年初时仍是如此。