An interview with Vitor Constancio, Vice President of the ECB, with daily Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad also included a focus on Greece:

Are you concerned about Greece and, if it comes to a Grexit, do you fear the spread of contagion affects to other euro area countries? 

“Like everyone else, I am concerned. But I am also absolutely convinced that the worst-case scenario will be avoided. At the same time, everyone acknowledges the degree of stress and vulnerability in the euro area has totally changed. There are no signs of contagion.”

But if it goes wrong and a Grexit does come about, wouldn’t the ECB incur huge losses?

“The Eurosystem (the ECB and the national central banks, ed.) has lent a total of some €110 billion to Greek banks. But the risk on just over €70 billion of that amount has been shifted to the Greek central bank. We jointly bear the risk on the rest of the amount. But bear in mind that collateral has been provided. We are talking about securities that are not linked to the Greek sovereign and which, on top of that, are subject to a “haircut”. This should offer sufficient protection.”