French banks welcomed the decisions taken by the European heads of state and government on a solution to stem the eurozone crisis.
They very much hope that this global political agreement, reflecting the willingness of the various states to maintain the eurozone's coherence and solidarity through substantial national programmes to control their public finances, will help to restore confidence.
The extent of the voluntary participation being asked of private creditors as part of the rescue plan for Greece is exceptional. French banks, for their part, have been providing support since the outset and are ready to respond to the European Council's proposal of a "voluntary bond exchange with a nominal discount of 50 per cent on the national Greek debt held". As they did last July, the banks will put forward their participation in the announced plan to their governing bodies. The overall exposure of the balance sheets of France's four main banks stands at around 0.12 per cent. They are therefore well positioned to meet this requirement.
Based on the new test implemented by the European Banking Authority (EBA), the total additional capital that French banks will need in order to comply with this temporary additional buffer will be €8.8 billion.
French banks are confident they can meet these new European requirements on their own without looking for public financing, and at the same time fulfil their mission of financing the French economy.
Press release
© FBF - French Banking Federation
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