History of the Eurozone Financial Crisis

Eurozone Financial Crisis

There are a number of factors that contributed to Europe's debt crisis. One of the initial factors was the heavy losses incurred by many European banks who had invested heavily in the American mortgage market. The losses were triggered by the downturn of the US economy, which caused numerous homeowners to default on their mortgages.

Many EU governments provided aid in an attempt to save these European banks but the cost proved to be too high. For instance, in Ireland, it had almost bankrupted the government. This, in turn, caused Europe to slip into recession in 2009 and for investors to closely scrutinise the finances of various EU governments. The threat of bank failures meant that the health of government finances became more important than ever.

Further information:

• EU's response to the crisis (includes chronological overview)

• Payments and Markets - There are three core components of the financial system: markets; institutions and; market infrastructures, which facilitate the handling of payments and the clearing and settlement of financial instruments.

• European Central Bank (ECB) legal acts

• EU economic governance - includes links to policies, regulations, directives, repair and safeguard measures in the financial sector

• EU economic situation (reports can be found on individual countries)

• Summaries of EU legislation: Economic and monetary affairs

• The euro