European Banks Could Face $23 Bln Writedown on Greece, FT Says

European banks would need to write down as much as 16 billion euros ($23 billion) on holdings of Greek debt should they have to take a 20 percent haircut on the bonds, the Financial Times reported, citing its own analysis of the 90 banks recently subjected to stress tests.

Auditors have warned banks to make provisions for losses on Greek bonds in their second-quarter results, the FT said, arguing lenders should absorb losses now because almost any proposals for dealing with Greek restructuring would lessen the value of their bondholdings.

To contact the reporter on this story: Blanche Gatt in London at bgatt@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Colin Keatinge at ckeatinge@bloomberg.net.