Effects of potential Greek default for banks not clear, ECB's Constancio says

The effects of a potential Greek default on the country's banks cannot yet be predicted, ECB vice president Vitor Constancio said on Saturday, stressing that he did not foresee a default.

If cash-strapped Greece missed a debt payment, the impact on Greek lenders, which are heavily exposed to the country's sovereign debt, would have to be assessed, Constancio said at a conference in Sitges, northeastern Spain.

"I'm not expecting it to happen," Constancio said of a Greek default. But for banks, "the consequences cannot be predicted at this stage," he added.

[Reuters]