Sunday, June 12, 2011

French banks lead exodus of EU lenders from hardest-hit European economies

Observer
June 12, 2011

The crisis enveloping Greece, Ireland and Portugal appeared to deepen after figures showed EU banks were refusing to support business deals in the EU's hardest-hit economies.

Figures from the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) show French, German and UK banks have embarked on a mass exodus from Greece, Portugal, Spain and Ireland, in what analysts see as an effort to bolster their balance sheets and conform to new rules designed to protect financial institutions from going bust.

The move is expected to add to tensions in Brussels over how to prevent Greece defaulting on its loans because vital business contracts will cost more to insure.

French banks cut their exposure to Greece from $92bn (£57bn) to $65bn in the last three months of 2010. They also reduced their involvement in Ireland, Portugal and Spain, slicing their total exposure to the four hardest-hit economies by $112bn.

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