BIS Review 23/2004  1  Indeed, many homeowners have taken advantage of low interest rates to refinance their mortgages, some having done so several times over the past couple of years. Survey data suggest that homeowners took out cash in more than one-half of these “refis,” often to pay down loans with higher interest rates.
So, we do not have to resort to Mark Twain to conclude that the rumours about the death of the euro may be somewhat exaggerated. However, it is undeniable, and this is the great paradox, that Europe now finds itself in the focus of global financial stress due to the sovereign debt crisis. But this is not a euro crisis.