German banks held $23bn in Greek bonds last year
German and French banks held over two-thirds of the Greek government bonds in international lenders’ hands at the end of last year, making them key to any restructuring deal.
New bank lending data shows German banks held $22.bn (£13.8bn) of Greek government debt at the end of December, down by over $3bn in the fourth quarter but leaving them well above the $15bn held by French banks.
Lenders from the two countries accounted for 70 per cent of the $54.2bn owned by banks from 24 countries who report to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), which chart cross-border lending around the world.
Greece has agreed a new plan with the EU and IMF to secure a new international bailout, but it depends on Athens keeping to its promises for further austerity and privatisations.
The new plan for the first time includes the involvement of private sector investors sharing the burden on a voluntary basis.
French banks have a bigger overall exposure to Greece than any other country, mainly due to loans to the private sector.
French banks had almost $40bn in loans to Greek companies and households, more than four times the exposure of German lenders, the BIS data show.
Overseas lenders retreated from Greece and other eurozone trouble spots last year as problems in peripheral European countries intensified, BIS data had already showed.
International loans to Greece stood at $161bn at the end of December, down $75bn from a year before, or almost one third.