“Toxic” debts of European banks amount to 800 billion dollars, announced the French presidency on Thursday, citing a British estimate. “This figure is an unofficial British estimate of the amount of risky assets that could ‘contaminate’ the entire European financial system, including Switzerland, says the Élysée Palace.
"It is not about the consequences, but about the cause of the crisis," it adds. President Nicolas Sarkozy referred to this figure on Thursday during a lunch with parliamentarians. In a recent study, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) assessed the value of "toxic" claims in the entire international financial system at 1.4 trillion dollars.
Sarkozy also told parliamentarians that he wants the next session of the European Council to address "coordinated action" of EU countries to combat the economic recession as a consequence of the financial disruption, according to several guests at the lunch. The French president confirmed his opposition to the nationalization of banks, as has been done in Great Britain and Germany. "He said that his job is actually to get the banks moving," stated one representative. (Hina)
