Given that the whole Greece saga has played out for a few years now -- and that most speculation is that Greece will default at some point -- if they finally do default, will it be mostly symbolic?
That is, even right now, it would be an extremely high risk to buy Greek bonds. (Isn't it like 28% or something?) Banks that have lent to Greece in the past must already be privately preparing to take the hit for these bad debts on their books. Likewise, their investors must also be taking that into account in the stock price.
Would it make sense then, that even though Greece hasn't defaulted yet, sentiment towards Greece is that there will be a default in the future. So, it will be no shock to anyone if it does happen and it will not hit the world economy strongly, because it will mostly be confirming something that was already acknowledged years ago.