The German base is crumbling

"Companies find money for investments much easier in America. It's high time Europe woke up.

German stock exchange boss Theodor Weimer is right when he emphasizes the importance of the European capital market union when presenting the annual figures of Deutsche Börse. 

The bottom line is that it means nothing more than keeping Europe competitive. Competitive when it comes to raising capital for investments.

This requires uniform rules in Europe, simple rules. That sounds simpler than it is. The polyphonic Europe moves here at a snail's pace. As a result, companies find better conditions in America and go there - see Linde.

Investors' pockets are deeper there. Not because Americans are making more money, but because they are more willing to lend their money to companies as venture capital. In return, they get higher returns than German savers on the call money account.

This is the second side, from which German regulation in particular can provide impetus for a broader use of the capital market, for example by ending the tax disadvantages of shares compared to real estate, gold and Bitcoin.

These points are all important to Weimer, but the stock exchange can do little to change them. It sees its core equity financing business shrinking, but has successfully established itself as a world leader in other fields. This is good for Frankfurt and Germany. But at some point the construct becomes shaky as the base gets narrower and narrower.”