Portfolio manager Axel Merk tells Smart Money that the ECB can keep weak banks afloat

"[…]French banks still have plenty of options. In the U.S., investment banks, like Lehman Brothers back in 2008, couldn't get funding from the Federal Reserve. Commercial banks, however, could, which is why investment banks registered as commercial banks after Lehman filed for bankruptcy. Such a debacle is unlikely to play out in Europe, says Axel Merk, president and portfolio manager at Merk Investments, an investment advisory firm. To begin with, French banks can request funding from the European Central Bank, he says. Earlier this month, the ECB offered banks unlimited funding for six months to quell general concerns about liquidity. 'From that point of view, there shouldn't be a fear that any major banks will shut down,' he says. …"