From the election of a French president who has openly expressed his opposition to austerity without a greater focus on stimulating economic growth to the struggles to form a new Greek government that may or may not agree to abide by the conditions set out in the existing bailout plan, recent elections have enveloped the Eurozone in yet more uncertainty. With the desire for an alternative to a programme of strict austerity gathering increasing popular support, balancing the challenges of the Eurozone’s rapidly escalating political crisis alongside the fiscal imperatives that need to be tackled has rarely been so difficult, or the path ahead for Europe’s leaders so unclear.

In these circumstances few would dare to predict the future. But the ability to assess and anticipate potential market risks – from the impact of sovereign debt issues on an already weakened banking sector to the prospect of a country, or even countries, leaving the Eurozone – is crucial. Also crucial is the need to prepare for a variety of eventualities, whether through more stringent credit assessment, tighter documentation, careful counterparty choice or other tactics.

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