Bank board member quits over jibes
German Chancellor Angela Merkel had called for the Bundesbank board member to resign
Thursday September 09 2010
A board member of Germany's central bank has agreed to quit after an uproar over disparaging remarks he made about Muslims and Jews, the bank has said.
The Bundesbank said it had reached an agreement with Thilo Sarrazin, who had asked to step down. He will leave his post at the end of the month, the bank said in a statement.
Chancellor Angela Merkel was one of several leaders who had called for his removal from bank's board.
Mr Sarrazin's comments that Muslim immigrants in Europe are unwilling or incapable of integrating into western societies and that all Jews "share a certain gene" provoked a storm of controversy in Germany.
