The private banking sector has been secured

There was an interesting exchange between Artur Fischer, of the Berlin Stock Exchange, and Greek economist Elena Panartis on the Today programme this morning. John Humphrys asked how Germany might react to a Greek default or exit:

Artur Fischer: ... The consequence would not be as bad as it used to be because, in the meantime we have secured our banking system, there wouldn't be any chain effect. I would say three quarters of the Greek debt is now held by government agencies, not any more by private banks. The private banking sector has been secured, so there wouldn't be any effects on the European economy.

Elena Panartis: So the bailout was for the banks. That's exactly what Syriza said...
...Well, it sounds like they were prepared to see us go AFTER they had paid their bills in their private banks.

So there you have it. Profits privatised, losses nationalised, the little guy gets screwed again, the new standard operating procedure for the big banks.

While it's still up on the Today website, you can hear the whole interview here (it starts about 51 minutes into the programme).