<Why are the elite City banks building distressed debt teams?>
Maybe they know something we don't. The article mostly talked about companies in Europe but what about the individual debt??
Britain becomes 'never, never land' as personal debt runs out of control
UK borrowers account for one third of unsecured debt in western Europe
On average, a Briton has twice the debt of a European
Total consumer debt in the UK is at a record £1.3 trillion
New debt last year came to an unprecedented £215bn
Citizens Advice faced 1.25 million new debt cases last year - the figure is rising
[
link to money.independent.co.uk]
And we already know whats going on here in the US with individual debt. (As well as GM Ford and etc.)
Sounds like they are setting up to buy assets for pennies on the dollar.