Banks in continental Europe, including Deutsche Bank, continue to hold very few real assets - cash, buildings - and take on risky bets. In their balance sheets, these appear as solid because they are secured via so-called credit default swaps, a form of privately-traded insurances.
Yet as was the case before the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, EU regulators still have no clear picture on the amount of these insurances and whether they are worth what they promise.
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