Market panic over Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) reached a fever pitch this week as the stock slumped 10% from $13.17 on Monday morning to $12.13 today (Wednesday). It's currently sitting at its lowest level in more than 20 years. In fact, today's DB stock price is 51% less than its lowest price during the 2008 financial crisis (which was $24.58).
Of course, investors are worried the bank may not be able to afford the massive $14 billion fine the U.S. government imposed on it Sept. 16 for trading in toxic mortgages a decade ago.
But earlier today, Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), assured global media that she doesn't believe DB will need a bailout.
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Lagarde's statement echoed Deutsche Bank CEO John Cryan, who told German newspaper Bild yesterday that he sees no need for state support of his institution.
However, Money Morning Capital Wave Strategist Shah Gilani, considered one of the world's foremost experts on the credit crisis, told Stuart Varney this morning on FOX Business' "Varney & Co." that DB "absolutely, unequivocally" will need a bailout.
If the bank is not bailed out, Gilani warned, it "would make the Lehman Brothers moment in 2008 look like a day at the beach."
Watch the video below as Gilani and his fellow "Varney & Co." panelists compare similarities between what's going down at Deutsche Bank right now and the 2008 financial crisis:
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