EU, EBC, bank officials discuss Greece in Rome
Officials from the European Central Bank, the European Commission and private lenders will meet in Rome today to discuss a second rescue plan for Greece, an Italian Treasury official said.
The talks are part of European efforts to get creditors to share the burden of a second Greek bailout a year after a 110 billion-euro ($158 billion) package failed to stop the debt crisis from spreading.
The meeting will focus on involvement of private investors in a new Greek package, said the official, who declined to be named because of internal policy. The discussions are organized by the Institute of International Finance and chaired by Vittorio Grilli, the head of the European Union?s Economic and Financial Committee. The EFC is a group of officials who help prepare the regular meetings of European finance ministers. Grilli also is director general of the Italian treasury.
Greece?s credit rating was cut yesterday three levels to CCC from B+ by Fitch Ratings, which cited the lack of a credible program for the debt-laden nation, uncertainties on the role of private creditors in funding and the growth outlook. Fitch was the third rating agency to cut Greece to the bottom tier of its rankings. It was cut to Caa1 by Moody?s Investors Service on June 1 and CCC by Standard
