BERLIN (MNI) – Germany might propose Deputy Finance Minister Joerg
Asmussen as successor to ECB Executive Board member Juergen Stark, who
announced his resignation today, the German magazine Der Spiegel
reported on its website, citing insiders to the matter.
Despite Asmussen’s membership in center-left SPD, the center-right
coalition government of Chancellor Angela Merkel kept him on as deputy
minister due to his expertise in dealing with the economic and financial
crisis.
Stark, a German national, cited “personal reasons” for his decision
to step down from the ECB board today. But he is known to be
uncomfortable with the central bank’s non-standard policy measures,
particularly its purchases of sovereign debt, which were relaunched
earlier this month after a long pause to lower the borrowing costs of
Italy and Spain.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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