Greece Played Germany Like a Violin; Horrified Syriza Demands ‘Icelandic’ Default

Courtesy of Mish.

A time-based analysis of eurozone taxpayer liabilities shows the Greek game-masters played German creditors like a violin.

What got me thinking about this in detail was a recent statement by Financial Times writer Wolfgang Münchau that France and Germany stand to forfeit €160 billion if Greece defaults.

On January 22, I had French exposure at €55 billion and German exposure at €73 billion, a total of €128 billion.

See Revised Greek Default Scenario: Liabilities Shifted to German and French Taxpayers; Bluff of the Day Revisited

The difference between our numbers is almost all due to a huge jump in Target2 imbalances. Let's take a look.

The above table derived from Exposure of European Countries to Greece by Dr. Eric Dor, IESEG School of management.

The total does not add up because I included only France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.

Partial Table of Liabilities March 4On March 4, the taxpayer liability of France and Germany increased to approximately €145 billion. The liability of the "big four" jumped from €209 billion to €239 billion.

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