Deal near to lower Greek debt, FinMin source says
Eurozone countries appear to have agreed on some measures to lower Greece’s debt burden, but are still discussing the size of losses private bondholders will be asked to take, a Greek Finance Ministry official said on Monday.
“There appears to be an agreement on lowering the interest rate of the initial (EU/IMF) loans to Greece as well as on the participation of Greek bonds held in the investment portfolios of (eurozone) national central banks in the debt swap plan,» the official said on condition of anonymity.
Speaking ahead of a meeting of Eurogroup finance ministers in Brussels on Monday, the official said questions remained over the transfer to Greece of profits accrued by the European Central Bank on its Greek government bond portfolio.
The source added: «The possibility of a deeper involvement of the private sector in the PSI debt swap (private sector involvement), mainly through the management of accrued debt interest, continues to be discussed.» [Reuters]
