LONDON, England - October 17, 2011 - Northern Europe must share the burden with southern Europe or face a "monumental economic failure", writes Stephen King, global chief economist for HSBC, in The Independent.

They should share the burden because they are partly to blame for the crisis for lending so much to southern countries. If they don't, a euro meltdown will pave the way for another Great Depression.

"The creditors chose to blame those in the south for having borrowed too much," King writes. "Yet, it was at least as much a story about the creditors having lent too much." Past interest rate trends prove this point, he argues. If borrowers wanted to persuade lenders to lend them more money, interest rates would have increased. However, if lenders wanted to convince borrowers to borrow more money, rates would have fallen.

Interest rates fell lower and lower until the 2008 financial crises, King notes. "For much of the euro's life, the story has been much more about the generosity of lenders than the desperation of borrowers."

If the euro disintegrates, massive financial anarchy could throw the world into another Great Depression, he warns. The northern creditors will suffer as much as anyone else. So Germany and France must take political risks to find a solution rather than risk a complete economic failure.