With few exceptions, senior European policy makers agree that the euro zone needs a "banking union" to correct flaws in its makeup that have been laid bare by the region's financial crisis. Trouble is, they don't agree what "banking union" means, The Wall Street Journal reported. Most academics suggest the banking union requires three pillars: a single euro-zone bank supervisor; a single "resolution authority" to deal with failing banks; and a single safety net to protect small depositors.

Germany's top central banker warned that Europe's debt crisis would take as much as a decade to overcome, adding that a lasting solution would only come once politicians stopped relying on the European Central Bank and pushed through far-reaching structural overhauls. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann signaled that the ECB could reduce interest rates if incoming data suggest it is warranted. But he warned such a move wouldn't turn around the euro bloc's economic fortunes. Mr.

German PV developer Solen has declared bankruptcy and filed for insolvency at the Meppen district court after failing to repay the interest on a loan, PV-Tech reported. According to the company, poor results as a result of cuts in the German Renewable Energy Act (EEG), falling PV prices over the last two years and high interest rates resulting from a corporate bond have meant that the firm has been unable to fulfil its obligation to its creditors. Despite the declaration of bankruptcy, the business is operating as usual.

Germany has become so dependent on Deutsche Bank to grease the wheels of its export driven economy that it looks willing to gloss over scandals involving its largest bank, Reuters reported in an insight. Deutsche is one of several European banks under investigation by regulators in Europe and the United States for its suspected role in rigging benchmark interest rates. It is cooperating with German authorities in a separate inquiry into alleged tax fraud. Deutsche has denied allegations it misvalued derivatives and mis-sold mortgage-backed securities.

Germany will save at least 15 billion euros over the coming decade thanks to its "safe haven" status among investors fleeing the euro zone debt crisis, which has driven down Berlin's borrowing costs, a leading German institute said on Monday, Reuters reported. Germany's rock-bottom interest rates, which are helping the government to cut its own debt and achieve a balanced budget, stand in sharp contrast to euro zone peers such as Greece and Portugal which remain locked outside global financial markets.

Germany has boasted of its near-balanced budget ahead of Thursday's European Union summit in Brussels, calling itself a model for all of Europe, The Wall Street Journal reported. But German businesses and economists say there is a hidden price tag: Europe's biggest economy has been neglecting investment in its infrastructure for years, hurting the country's potential to grow and create jobs. Germany spends significantly less on public infrastructure than the U.S.

Insolvent German street light maker Hess is holding talks with potential investors with a view to finding a buyer for the scandal-hit company soon, Reuters reported. Hess said on Tuesday it had received expressions of interest from several strategic and financial investors, whom it did not name, and that it had held talks with several of them. The firm, whose search for a buyer is being led by consultancy Ebner Stolz, said it aimed to be sold as a whole if possible. Hess's insolvency filing in February came just months after its stock market debut.

Germany’s Bundesbank nearly doubled its already large risk provisions for 2012, saying Europe’s sovereign debt crisis was not over and urging central banks to stay away from fiscal policy, the Financial Times reported. The Bundesbank added €6.7bn to its provisions, bringing them up to €14.4bn, the bank said in its annual report published on Tuesday. The increase partly reflected the risk it perceived in holding the sovereign debt of countries hit by the crisis such as Spain, Italy and Greece.

Germany is growing wary of saddling bank-account holders with losses as part of a rescue for Cyprus and no longer insists on a financial contribution from the International Monetary Fund, a close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel said, Bloomberg reported. Michael Meister, deputy parliamentary floor leader of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party, floated concessions that would hasten the wrap-up of nine months of aid talks and lessen the risk that a financial accident in Cyprus, which makes up barely 0.2 percent of the euro-zone economy, could revive European market turbulence.

Greater social justice, higher taxes for the wealthy, and a statutory minimum wage will be at the heart of a left-leaning election campaign by Germany’s Social Democrats bidding to unseat Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, in September’s general election, the Financial Times reported. The programme, including stricter regulation of banks and other financial institutions, and statutory quotas for the appointment of women as company directors, was unanimously approved by the Social Democratic party executive meeting in Berlin on Monday.