EU banking stress test:67% of Greek debt held by Greek banks
The data from the sample of 90 banks (Dec. 2010) shows the aggregate exposure-at-default (EAD) Greek sovereign debt outstanding at EUR98.2 bn. Sixty-seven percent of Greek sovereign debt (and 69% of the much smaller Greek interbank position) is in fact held by domestic banks (about 20% refers to loans which are mostly guaranteed by sovereign). The aggregate EAD exposure is EUR52.7 bn for Ireland (61% held domestically) and EUR43.2 bn (63% held domestically) for Portugal. Importantly, EAD exposures are different from similar exposures reported on a gross basis in the disclosure templates.
The chart below shows the geographical breakdown of Greek sovereign debt (EAD) held by EU banks participating in the stress testing exercise. In general the EBA is not aware that these figures have changed substantially since end 2010 and for a few banks their holdings of such debt has in fact decreased.
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