BBC Learning English
Words in the News
26
th
September 2011
Banks get ready for Greek failure to pay debt
Words in the News
© British Broadcasting Corporation 2011
Page 1 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
There are widespread reports that leading economies are considering allowing Greece to fail
to pay their international debts. It comes ahead of an important meeting between the boss of
the International Monetary Fund and the finance minister of Greece. From Washington,
BBC’s Michelle Fleury reports.
At meetings here in Washington, the group of twenty leading nations have been working on
plans to deal with the potential damage from a Greek default. A lot of their efforts have been
focused on the banking system. If Greece were allowed to go bust, the bonds that banks hold
would become worthless.
German and French banks are most at risk. So there's been lots of talk here in Washington on
how to inject more capital to shore them up.
The other big worry is that if Greece defaulted, the financial markets would start turning on
other countries. If Italy or Spain were to come under pressure, those here say there isn't
enough cash available to help them.
That's why finance ministers are working on building a firewall around Greece to stop the
situation from getting that far.
Michelle Fleury, BBC News
