One of my favourite things about the UK is that occasionally, not often mind you, people collectively turn around and say 'wait, this is getting a bit confusing. Does anyone have the facts?'
The product of this mentality is the brilliant @fullfact, an independent fact-checking service which undertakes to clarify what the facts are in heated public debates. One day, when Greece has emerged on the other side of this LOLery, I hope we will have our own version of FullFact. I'll work for them for free while they get up and running and that is a promise.
Earlier today I gave them a few hints on the issue of the UK's exposure to Greek debt - their factcheck can be found here. Basically I relied on the latest figures from the Bank of International Settlements, which break down Greek debt into private and public and then into the countries it is owed to. A composite table of this looks as follows. (Source: BIS Quarterly Review Detailed Tables pg. 103 onwards)
All figures are current as of Dec 2010 (so quite dated), and expressed in US Dollars. Please note this is only banks' exposures to Greece, not those of other states or of course the ECB and IMF.
And are you wondering which banks are most exposed to Greece? From Barclays Capital, via FT Alphaville, who are now back in my good books:
The product of this mentality is the brilliant @fullfact, an independent fact-checking service which undertakes to clarify what the facts are in heated public debates. One day, when Greece has emerged on the other side of this LOLery, I hope we will have our own version of FullFact. I'll work for them for free while they get up and running and that is a promise.
Earlier today I gave them a few hints on the issue of the UK's exposure to Greek debt - their factcheck can be found here. Basically I relied on the latest figures from the Bank of International Settlements, which break down Greek debt into private and public and then into the countries it is owed to. A composite table of this looks as follows. (Source: BIS Quarterly Review Detailed Tables pg. 103 onwards)
All figures are current as of Dec 2010 (so quite dated), and expressed in US Dollars. Please note this is only banks' exposures to Greece, not those of other states or of course the ECB and IMF.
And are you wondering which banks are most exposed to Greece? From Barclays Capital, via FT Alphaville, who are now back in my good books:
