Germany 'vulnerable' to southern European crisis The IMF encouraged Germany to seek out more "domestic demand-led growth." "[The] reduction of imbalances in the euro area would be helped by the natural rebalancing of Germany's economy," the Washington-based fund said. The IMF also called on Berlin to help in "articulating more clearly the Economic and Monetary Union's shared vision of the post-crisis architecture," in order to boost market confidence. Germany has become a reluctant savior for debt-wracked European nations, offering the bulk of cash for European Union bailouts but rejecting some wide-reaching reforms to monetary and fiscal policy that involve broader burden sharing. The rescues are deeply unpopular in Germany, leading to taxpayer resentment that often appears poised to spill over into the political sphere and poison joint European efforts to tackle the crises. The IMF stressed the risks for German banks inherent in the crisis. It is "important to ensure that risks from the global activities of large banks are fully understood and internalised."