http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15498231&fsrc=rss
The prospects of a full-blown default by a European government still seem remote, especially given rising talk of a bail-out for Greece . Yet were it to occur, the consequences could be nasty. Jörg Krämer of Commerzbank notes that the Greek government’s outstanding debt securities of €290 billion ($398 billion) dwarf the amount Lehman Brothers owed bondholders at the time of its collapse. ..Commerzbank reckons that about 60% of the Greek government bonds issued over the past few years were sold to non-Greek European buyers, half of whom may have been banks. Any restructuring of Greek, or other euro-zone, debt could result in European banks having to take “massive write-offs”, says Mr Krämer
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