ANALYSIS: How Grexit bill could dig deep into ECB pockets

By John O'Donnell & Paul Carrel

FRANKFURT - A Greek departure from the euro could expose the European Central Bank to losses on tens of billions of credit, a hole Germany and other euro members may have to fill.

As political wrangling with Athens freezes the country's access to loans from eurozone states, Greece has been drawing heavily on the ECB, running up an ever larger tab.

The Greek government insists it will remain a eurozone member but the uncertainty has prompted the ECB to examine the impact of a possible 'Grexit,' people familiar with the matter said, uncovering a big potential bill for the central bank and the euro zone countries that underpin it.

Any such losses would come on top of a default on some or all of Greece's more than 320 billion euro (236 billion pounds) national debt and provide another reason for keeping Athens inside the fold.

The ECB bill could bounce to euro zone countries because the central bank is a joint venture they own.

"If one is pushed out, the rest have to absorb the costs," said Stavros Zenios, an academic and member of the Board of Directors of Cyprus's central bank.

"You leave those who are left behind with a bigger and bigger burden. The loss will be absorbed by member states like Italy and Spain. Are they in a position to absorb this loss?"

The ECB declined to comment on any potential liabilities it could face.

In the red

The full extent of risk for the ECB is complex because disentangling support for Greece would raise a host of legal questions that could take years to answer.

Some of the different liabilities overlap. Neither is it clear how much of the bill would go unpaid. But the risks can be identified.

ECB President Mario Draghi...