UK
UK Economy Set for Weak Growth in 2013. Reuters

The world is staring at another recession because of the continuing Eurozone crisis, according to a surveyby the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation (CSFI) in collaboration with PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers).

Worry over the future of banks throughout the world has peaked, the survey notes. "Banks are clearly worried about the dangers posed by continued turmoil in the Eurozone, the threat of a further credit squeeze and uncertainty created by continued regulatory changes," Andrew Gray, banking partner at PwC, said in a press release.

A euro collapse would hit banks not just in Europe but in all major regions of the world. Bankers in countries as wide apart as the US, Canada, China, Argentina and Australia put the euro crisis at the top of their list of concerns, says the CSFI's annual Banking Banana Skins Survey.

Credit risk, liquidity, the availability of capital and political interference are next on the list of highest concerns of bankers this year.

"The picture painted by this survey is very bleak," said David Lascelles, the survey's editor, adding: "It shows a fragile banking system beset by major threats and uncertainties."

On a positive side, the emerging economies signalled stronger growth than in the industrialised world, though they remain vulnerable to global banking shocks.

The poll was based on responses from more than 700 bankers and banking regulators of the banking industry in 58 countries.