German bond yields are climbing as European leaders consider increasing the €750bn rescue fund to help countries needing bailouts. The chasm between two- and ten-year bunds, spanning the yield curve, has increased to more than 190bp, far wider than the average of 172bp in the second half of last year. This rise in German yields is not dissimilar to what happened after reunification in the 1990s. The spread between two- and ten-year bunds expanded by more than 300bp in the six years following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Mohit Kumar, a fixed income strategist at Deutsche Bank, told Bloomberg: "One thing these two events have in common is that it is a case of stronger economies supporting weaker ones, and that will lead to higher deficits. "Germany is leading the bailout, and its contingent liabilities are increasing. It might not be the same magnitude in terms of costs, but there are likely to be big bills to pay." Germany is shouldering most of the burden of the bailout fund, pledging a greater amount than any other nation in the euro region. With Portugal and Spain looking likely to need assistance from the fund, German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said this week the countries in the euro area with the top AAA credit ratings cannot be solely responsible for solving this crisis