British banks prepare for eurozone exits

BRITAIN’S banks are drawing up contingency plans in case there is a disorderly break-up of the eurozone or exit of some countries from the single currency as the sovereign debt crisis rages on, a top British regulator said yesterday.

Andrew Bailey, deputy head of the Prudential Business Unit at Britain’s Financial Services Authority (FSA), said British banks do not have large exposures to the eurozone, but must plan for the worst.

“We cannot be, and are not, complacent on this front,” Mr Bailey said at a conference.