“According to IMF data, there is approximately $49 billion in loans outstanding to the Egypt sovereign. Of that amount, $5.4 billion – or roughly 11% — is to U.S. banks, which compares to $17.6 billion or 36% to French banks, $10.6 billion or 22% to UK banks, and $6.3 billion or 13% to Italian banks,” Keefe Bruyette & Woods said in a research report.
Of course, the amount of Egyptian sovereign debt held by U.S. banks is just one measure of potential financial pain. The bigger risk to banks’ wallets is from rising oil prices or increased inflation trends in emerging markets if tumult spreads to other countries.
Keefe Bruyette said in its research note that the U.S. universal banks don’t disclose much publicly about their exposure to emerging marketing. “As such, extrapolating economic impact from the limited disclosures is challenging,” Keefe Bruyette said.