German banks reduce their exposure in Greece

According to Financial Times Deutschland German banks have reduced their exposure in Greece significantly in recent months. Citing Bundesbank statistics the paper claims German financial institutions held €10 bn at the beginning of this year down from € 16 bn in April 2010. German banks reduced their exposure by €4bn, €2bn of Hypo Real Estate are no longer accounted for in these statistics because they are now in a specifically designated bad bank. The paper points out that the banks reduced their exposure despite an informal standstill agreement in which they pledged to keep their exposure constant. According to those statistics the French banks are still the most exposed on Greece with government bonds worth €11.2 bn.