Euro exit testing intensifies

Six months ago, participants in the foreign exchange market began to openly discuss the preparations that needed to be made for the possible exit of one or more eurozone member states and the subsequent restitution of their former currencies. At that time, a euro exit seemed plausible but far less likely than it does now, with even Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, warning recently that banks should be taking steps to protect themselves from a likely eurozone shake-up.

Bank exposure