We've put out a new briefing on the potential second Greek bailout and the cost of a Greek debt restructuring this morning. See here for the full report, but here are some of the key points:- EU member states have in total amassed quantifiable exposure to Greece of €311bn (via their banking sectors, the bail-out packages and the ECB’s liquidity programme). France and Germany have exposure of €82bn and €84bn respectively, while the UK only has €10.35bn exposure (in direct exposures).
- In a best case scenario, to carry Greece over until 2014 a second bail-out would have to cover a funding gap of at least €122 billion. This includes Greece receiving the full amount of the original bailout as well as meeting its deficit targets and privatisation commitments. If these fail the funding needs could rise to €166bn, potentially requiring Greece to make a third request for external aid.
- The cost of restructuring will also increase with time, as Greece’s debt burden will only rise over the next few years. To bring down Greece’s debt to sustainable levels today, half of it would need to be written off. In 2014, two-thirds of Greece’s debt will need to be written off to have the same effect, meaning a radical increase in the cost to creditors. Put differently, each household in the eurozone today underwrites €535 in Greek debt – by 2014 and following a second bailout, this will have increased to a staggering €1,450 per household. This makes a second Greek bail-out far more politically contentious than any of the existing rescue packages, given the likelihood of debt write-downs with taxpayers footing a huge chunk of the bill.
- Unfortunately, this is a debt crisis and someone will have to take losses. We estimate that the first round effects of a 50% write down on Greece’s debt would cost the European economy between €123bn - €144bn (uncertainty regarding the ECB’s exposure accounts for the range). However, these are only first round losses. It cannot be emphasised enough that the main cost from a debt restructuring comes in the form of contagion and the knock-on effects of losses throughout the European banking system. Although this is a substantial cost, we estimate that in 2014 following a second bailout, a haircut of 69% would be needed, equal to €175bn, to reach the same debt level.
These graphs clearly illustrate why a second Greek bailout is such a difficult political sale. Basically: banks out, taxpayers in. Seriously, does anyone think that this is in any way sustainable?
Good cartoon. The rescue is not for the Greeks but for the banks, mainly French and German, to make sure their losses are paid for by the tax payer. The quicker the Greeks default and re-adopt the Drachma, the sooner they will be able to pay their way and the less the overall cost will be.
ReplyDeleteEvery other dodgy bond will also become more dodgy, and all need the same remedy: get out of the Euro. The core countries will then be left with a reasonable currency; though I doubt the French could live with it for long.
Of course it's not sustainable. Anyone not wearing blinkers can see that. Unfortunately the euro "elite" are wearing the blinkers marked "the euro must survive at all costs". Trichet must be very worried about what will be revealed about the ECB and its stack of bad paper.
ReplyDeletedo you think a coup-d'etat is on the cards. greecee hasn't had one since 1967 and all the ingredients are there
ReplyDeleteYour link does not work properly. But i know that abandon ship in Greece,
ReplyDelete