French banks most exposed to Italian debt: BIS data

(ZURICH) - French banks are most heavily exposed to Italian debt, according to data from the Bank for International Settlements.

Of $867.3 billion (626 billion euros) owed by Italy at the end of 2010 to banks across 24 countries, just under half -- $392.6 billion -- was owed to French banks.

Of this sum, $97.6 billion were loans to the Italian public sector, $41.8 billion to banks, and $253.2 billion to the non-bank sector.

The exposure of French banks to Italy is therefore substantially higher than the $140.6 billion they lent to Spain and $56.7 billion to Greece.

German banks meanwhile have an exposure of $162.3 billion to the Italians, lower than the $181.9 billion loaned to Spain.

About a third of Germany's exposure to Italy was to the public sector, while another third was to banks, and the remaining $60.2 billion was to the non-bank private sector.