In the late 1990s, as European Monetary Union approached, Larry Summers had the temerity to ask an international gathering of financial experts: “Could the Europeans here explain to me what happens if a bank in Spain gets into serious trouble? What are the respective responsibilities of the Spanish supervision authorities, the Spanish central bank, the ECB, and Brussels?” The question silenced the meeting. After an embarrassed pause there followed a “chaotic argument among the Europeans, which ended without resolution but with only a sense that they didn’t want to air their linen in front of
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