The word Finanzkrise has been used in the past months to describe the state of the World economy.
But generally it is used to refer to any form of crisis in the finance markets. It is, for example, used to describe the inflation of 1929 but also the situation in the Netherlands in the 1630s.
It was selected by the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache to be the “Wort des Jahres” (Word of the Year) in 2008.
Coupled with this is the “Unwort des Jahres” of the same year: Notleidene Banken.
This term is ironically used to talk about the banking situation in 2008, as many banks had to be “rescued” by their relevant national governments.
Previously many banks had been making large profits and even after the crisis were still paying their managers high bonuses, whilst at the same time accepting state help.
To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:
(Press the “play” button to listen to the podcast)
