Wirecard Implosion Tears Through European Banks’ Bottom Lines
This article is for subscribers only.
Wirecard AG’s spectacular collapse is leaving a gaping hole in the income statements of its European banks.
While only three of the biggest lenders to the German payments company have reported earnings so far, all wrote down virtually their entire exposure. Commerzbank AG and ING Groep NV each took a hit of about 175 million euros ($207 million), according to people familiar with the matter, more than half of their profit for the second quarter. Credit Agricole SA suffered a loss of about 110 million euros.