The Bureau Recommends a Channel 4 news investigation into the Greek debt crisis and the far reaching effects Greece’s default on its loans would have worldwide.
Despite strikes, protests and a slump in his popularity owing to austerity measures, last night Prime Minister Papandreou survived a confidence vote in his government which will pave the way for a €12bn aid package from eurozone countries.
The country must now grapple with EU-IMF imposed budget reforms to stave off a wider eurozone crisis; measures which include a vast privatisation programme to raise €50bn – which has sharply divided public opinion.
In the midst of this, Channel 4 news has been calculating the potential cost of collapse to Britain and challenging the figures presented by UK officials. While Ministers have claimed British banks have ‘only £2.5bn’ of exposure to Greek government debt, the Bank of England says potential losses would amount to just £8bn.
But according to the channel’s research, a complex web of derivatives and insurance deals means Britain’s financial institutions could be hit with losses of up to £366bn from the collapse of the Greek economy, equal to 24% of Britain’s GDP.
