Greece’s biggest creditor Germany has made a huge profit on the country’s debt crisis over the last 5 years as it saved through lower interest payments on funds borrowed amid investor “flights to safety,” according to a study by the private, non-profit Leibniz Institute of Economic Research in a research paper it published.
Germany, which has taken a tough line on Greece, has profited from the country’s crisis to the tune of 100 billion euros ($109 billion), according to the new study.
“These savings exceed the costs of the crisis — even if Greece were to default on its entire debt,” said the report.
“Germany has clearly benefited from the Greek crisis.”
When investors are faced with turmoil, they typically seek a safe haven for their money, and export champion Germany “disproportionately benefited” from that during the debt crisis, it said.
“Every time financial markets faced negative news on Greece in recent years, interest rates on German government bonds fell, and every time there was good news, they rose.”
The estimated 100 billion euros Germany had saved since 2010 accounted for over three percent of GDP, said the institute based in the eastern city of Halle.
The bonds of other countries — including the United States, France and the Netherlands — had also benefited, but “to a much smaller extent”.
Germany’s share of the international rescue packages for Greece, including a new loan being negotiated now, came to around 90 billion euros, said the institute.
“Even if Greece doesn’t pay back a single cent, the German public purse has benefited financially from the crisis,” said the institute.
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