"It's not going to replace traditional bank lending anytime soon, but it will be an alternative for some, " says Dr. Thomas Meyer, an economist at Deutsche Bank Research in Frankfurt, Germany, and author of a research note on person-to-person online lending.

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Kuske actually started his sporting life as a track and field athlete of some note, claiming a bronze in Germany's 4x100m relay squad at the 1998 world junior championships in Annecy in France.

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The new note is realpolitik: hardnosed deals with Germany and Russia.

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