True, in theory the banks can sell industrial stakes or other assets to raise cash.
The collapsing stockmarket has pulverised the worth of banks' industrial stakes, still an important feature of German capitalism.
No wonder DaimlerChrysler is anxious to follow BAE Systems and sell its stake in EADS, not least because it needs the money to rescue Chrysler in America.The German government, although not keen on buying industrial stakes, will probably move directly into EADS, taking the DaimlerChrysler stake and financing the move by privatising other state holdings.
Germans would spend less time seeking tax shelters or ploughing money into tax-driven investments that make little sense whether east German property or Asian shipping.Many economists also argue that the state could actually make money out of a cut in capital-gains tax, as the current high rates discourage banks from selling industrial stakes they want to unload.
And at least €6.6 billion of the cleanup relates to industrial stakes and tax assets.But Bankia's assumptions on the rate of non-performing loans in areas such as residential mortgages and corporate loans set a disturbing new benchmark for other lenders.
Indeed, the most beleaguered European governments, in Spain, Greece and Portugal, are desperately trying to privatise state assets to plug the holes in their budgets.But when even centre-right governments such as Germany's or the previous French administration start buying up industrial stakes, something is in the air.
The government of François Hollande may be ideologically opposed to privatisation, but it is hoping to reduce industrial stakes to raise funds for livelier sectors, such as broadband and health.The second area of growth should be in eastern Europe, where hundreds of large firms, including manufacturers, remain in state hands.
The key will be whether management can adroitly unwind Allianz's old industrial stakes, which have bloated Allianz's equity base for years and limited returns.
IT IS just as well that high-stakes industrial poker is a game familiar to Sergio Marchionne, the chief executive of Fiat Group.
