Yeah, this. I've never yet seen an explanation for this, in either the MSM or the financial press. There is an assumption everywhere that no one in the eurozo

Yeah, this. I've never yet seen an explanation for this, in either the MSM or the financial press. There is an assumption everywhere that no one in the eurozone can default. My thinking is that this must have something to do with the ECB's rules on collateral; if the Greek banks have nothing but defaulted securities to offer, then they cannot meet their reserve requirements and therefore cannot obtain euros from the ECB or other banks within the system. That would result in all Greek banks going bust and being unable to operate, unless the Bank of Greece stepped in (by implication, issuing loans to banks in drachma in exchange for defaulted or new public debt securities). But this is speculation on my part; I have never seen the mechanism explained in any detail. Kind of amazing that in 7 years of "crisis" everyone has been happy to parrot the same default == grexit mantra without once explaining the mechanics, but here we are.