Les US retirent leur argent de la zone euro

L'or est à 1.128 eur, silber à 28,37 ... et si la tendence décrite ci dessous se transforme en panique, les banques européennes seront fauchées en quelques jours:

US money market funds have sharply cut their exposure to banks in the eurozone over the past few weeks and reduced the availability of credit, even in stronger countries such as France.

The money market funds, historically crucial providers of short term financing to European banks, have withdrawn from all but extremely short-term lending as concerns about sovereign debt have mounted.

While the agreement of a second bail-out deal for Greece might ease nerves, the funds are also stockpiling cash in case US politicians fail to raise the federal debt ceiling, prompting withdrawals from investors.

One French financier said: “Up to mid-June, getting three, six or nine-month money was not that difficult.

“But now, getting one-week or one-month money is about all we can manage”.

People on both sides of financing French banks say the cost of debt has not changed substantially but rather the availability has diminished and money market funds preferring to lend overnight.

Money market lending to Spanish and Italian banks has virtually ceased in the past month as sovereign debt worries have spread to Europe’s larger economies, reported the head of one money market business.

At the end of June, banks in the two countries had accounted for 0.8 per cent of the $1,570bn assets in prime money market funds, calculates Fitch, down from 6.1 per cent in late 2009.

The 10 largest US prime money market funds reduced their total exposure to European banks by 8.7 per cent on a dollar basis in June, according to the rating agency.
(Financial Times)

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