The €2 trillion debt exposure to Greece, Spain and Portugal

Nick Matthews
Economics Research
+44 02 7085 0173
nick.matthews@rbs.com

We estimate there is around Eur2 trillion of debt issued by public and private sector institutions from Greece, Spain and Portugal held by financial institutions outside of these countries. This is the equivalent of 22% of euro area GDP and is well above most widely quoted estimates.
 The size of financial institutions’ exposure to these 3 countries argues in favour of intervention so as to avoid a repeat of a complete collapse in confidence.
 The ECB will need to step up considerably its purchase programme especially on the private asset side.
Global financial institutions’ exposure to Greece, Spain and Portugal

The €2 trillion debt exposure to Greece, Spain and Portuga