Finance & Loans

How European debt crisis could affect you

We’ve been hearing enormous economic problems with Greece, Ireland and Portugal for quite some time now. Eurozone is dealing with Greece’s debt by extending bailouts at enormous cost to member nations.

U.S. banks are heavily invested in Eurozone and other European countries. Great Britain accounts for about $700 billion of U.S. bank investments while $300 billion invested in France and Germany, $50 billion each in Italy and Spain. The Bank of America has a $16.7 billion exposure to Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Italy and Spain. These five countries are the most talked about risk of loan defaults. Other major financial institutions that are exposed to Europe or Eurozone debt include Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. In order to accommodate for anticipated European debt default, banks and financial institutions could further tighten credit to U.S. customers.

If you have a 401(k) plan or if you an individual investor with an exposure to financial sector, you are in for a substantial cut if any of the Eurozone or European country default on their loans.

Eurozone and European debt crisis is sending the U.S. stock market on a rollercoaster ride. This affects all our retirement as well as non-retirement investments.