Last month, Crédit Agricole announced it was selling its Greek banking arm Emporiki to Alpha Bank for €1 ($1.3), adding that it would take a €2bn hit to its bottom line as a result of the sale. Two days later, fellow French bank Societe Generale announced it had sold its majority stake in Greece’s Geniki bank to Piraeus bank.

The announcements came as European banks in stable countries including France and Germany accelerate plans to reduce exposure to the likes of Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain, after a brief pause in their retreat earlier this year.