Perils of Creating Post-Euro Currencies

Chad Wasilenkoff, CEO, Fortress Paper, www.fortresspaper.com, is a guest on Canada's BNN network. "One compelling but overlooked reason for the euro to stick together: the logistical nightmare of splitting apart," says Chad Wasilenkoff, chief executive of Vancouver-based Fortress Paper Ltd. (FTPLF), which produces the high-security paper used in the banknotes of numerous countries, including in the euro zone. He believes that a quick return of the Greek drachma, the Irish punt or the Italian lira is a logistical impossibility and thus that the euro zone has no choice but to stick together."

Wasilenkoff says that the complicated process of designing, preparing, manufacturing, distributing and circulating the currency typically takes three to four years from start to finish. In an emergency--and with some cutting of corners to meet a tight deadline--a country would still need a full year "at an absolute minimum," he says.

"Even in Iraq, when no one wanted Saddam on their notes anymore, they really had no choice but to wait," said Wasilenkoff.

But when Wasilenkoff considers the hurdles involved in bringing a new currency into circulation, he says he can't see how the euro can break up. He does expect the debt crisis to continue, but that will undermine people's faith in banks, he says, and boost demand for the stuff his company helps make: hard cash.




http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20111209-712592.html




Wasilenkoff, whose company's Swiss subsidiary produces paper for between 7% and 10% of all euro notes in circulation, for all Swiss francs, and for a dozen other currencies, said he's seen no indication that euro-zone members are giving up on their currency. Rather, "euro note production is up and high-denomination banknotes are in greater demand."




In particular, he notes a pickup in demand for 1,000-franc notes in Switzerland, attributing that to people who would prefer to keep their wealth locked up in safety deposit boxes rather in the banking system.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• post-euro currencies
• euro
• Fortress Paper
• Chad Wasilenkoff
• security paper
• Vorticom