G20 summit expected to back IMF plan for bigger bailout fund

France's biggest bank, BNP Paribas, unexpectedly downgraded by Standard & Poor's

The Guardian,

Friday 14 October 2011 20.24 BST

A summit of G20 finance ministers in Paris on Saturday is expected to back moves by European leaders and the International Monetary Fund for a more substantial bailout fund to rescue indebted nations and prevent the eurozone's collapse, according to sources close to the meeting.

The IMF is expected to win support for an enhanced rescue facility, at the same time as eurozone nations move closer to adopting the so-called "big bazooka" of a huge insurance fund or wider guarantees to underwrite Greece and other ailing countries.

As the finance ministers arrived in Paris, France's biggest bank, BNP Paribas, was unexpectedly downgraded by Standard & Poor's because of its weakening financial profile. BNP had been one of only three major global banks to be rated AA and the downgrade to AA minus came with an affirmation of ratings of other banks. The ratings agency now believes other banks are more likely to secure government support if they run into difficulty.

While many analysts still expect Greece to default and repay only 40% to 50% of its debts, there is concern that a firewall will first have to be put in place to prevent a domino effect spreading to Portugal, Italy and Spain and banks holding large amounts of Greek debt.

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