Europe’s debt crisis deepened on Monday as Italy and Spain saw borrowing costs soar by record amounts, hitting bank shares and stock markets globally.
Italy, the third-largest eurozone economy and home to the continent’s biggest bond market, saw the premium it pays to borrow over German debt rise by more than a quarter to 3 percentage points. Spain’s benchmark borrowing costs hit a euro-era high, above 6 per cent.
The sharp market moves came as a consortium of large European banks with holdings of Greek bonds demanded that the European Union commit itself to a buy-back of the debt, possibly with billions in government money. Without quick action, they warned, countries like Spain and Italy could be sucked under.