The Eurozone financial condition has been in a state of disarray for some time. It is apparent to everyone watching that the ECB and the financial authorities didn’t do much to really put in place a plan to build a better foundation underlying the banks after the financial crisis.

What they did was throw money at the situation, reduce rates and hope that it would somehow cure itself. For a while, it seemed that there was a chance, albeit slim. Now that there is evidence that the global slowdown is hitting Europe hard, there is not much more left to keep a lid on the problems that lie underneath. That will eventually open up like a giant sinkhole and suck down the entire region.

A few charts that are of interest…