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A DOZEN BANKS, insurers and investment funds who own Greek government bonds have participate in a massive debt relief plan for the country, according to the body representing them in talks
The statement from the Institute of International Finance comes amid concern that not enough investors will voluntarily swap their Greek government bonds for new ones with a much lower face value, longer repayment deadlines and lower interest rates.
Private creditors have until Thursday night to sign up for the bond swap, which could slice as much as €107 billion off Greece’s €350 billion pile of national debt. Investors who participate would lose around 75 percent of the value of their overall bond holdings.
However, without the debt relief, Greece won’t get a second, €130 billion bailout from the other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund – and would default on its debts, likely leaving investors with much bigger losses.
The 12 big investors that have promised to participate in the plan include German insurer Allianz, French bank BNP Paribas, Germany’s Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank, as well as Greece’s Eurobank EFG and National Bank of Greece, the IIF said.
The banking group did not say how much Greek debt these institutions hold.
The participation of these investors doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as they were closely involved in negotiating the deal. Many of them also have close links to eurozone governments, which will be funding the bailout.
The bigger question will be whether less traditional bond investors, such as hedge funds that bought the bonds at a steep discount, will also sign up.
If not enough investors participate voluntarily, Greece has threatened to force losses on holdouts.
That, however, could trigger payouts on so-called credit default swaps — complex financial products that act as bond insurance — which the eurozone fears could cause panic on financial market.
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Anybody who is still in doubt how corrupt the financial industry is reread this article. Keep reading it until all doubt is gone.
Those of you that are willing to make a buck out of another persons misery feel free to smack me. I couldn’t care less what you think anyway.
Reada
My little contribution might help you to understand a little better and thus the readers will benefit from sounder commentaries.
Peter Robinson. I understand things perfectly. I am a patient woman though but I hope not too many more people die of poverty while I’m waiting for the rest of ye to catch up.
Reada your’e a shame and disgrace! What about all the grannies pensions and capital investment funds for orphanages, old folks homes, hostels for the sick and indigent etc. which will loose out on the 75% loss in value of these bond holdings?
Have you no pity? Are all these worthwhile causes to go short while you call for more and more reductions in the returns to these bond holders?
To spite your constant rantings and ravings on this site I, for one, am delighted that we in this country are doing our level best to protect the interest of these noble and worthy causes.
Oh and by the way, would ya pay that g’damn household charge before more poor sick grannies and childer are on the streets begging and starving.
Before this goes any further, can I nip in and ask you to try and keep your discussions to the matters at hand, and not use your arguments to criticise each other personally? Ta. G
Gavan. You’ve got to read between the lines while we await the sarcasm font.
Love you John murphy. How could I have forgotten the grannies and the orphans waiting the scraps from the investors’ tables. Silly me.. ;)
Ah, I think Gavan’s got a handle on he auld sarcasm lark himself Reada!
It was inevitable anyway..might kick start things in Greece a little.
I heard Enda on the radio asking us to get on the “euro train”. The train of debt is it?
Well…Enda would know all about trains…being on the gravy one for the past year…
I’m certain he wasn’t talking about Bob Dylan’s slow train anyway… but it’s coming…
“People starving and thirsting, grain elevators are bursting
Oh, you know it costs more to store the food than it do to give it
They say lose your inhibitions
Follow your own ambitions
They talk about a life of brotherly love show me someone who knows how to live it
There’s a slow, slow train comin’ up around the bend”
Would be interesting to find out exactly how much of €107bn those 12 hold.
I really find the ignorance surrounding this situation is abysmal. To describe these Banks or financial institutions as somehow being corrupt just demonstrates a general lack of education or a shocking misunderstanding as to how the world operates.
Each of these institutions would have purchases Greek bonds in the same way as they would have invested in cash instruments like deposit accounts as a means of generating profits for disgusting reasons such as pension funds.
Indeed many Irish pension funds have an exposure to Greek Spanish and Lord of Lords Irish Bonds!
some investments are sound and others not so sound and the market position in the past three years has been extremely difficult for everyone.How that makes the investors corrupt is beyond me!
While as far as I can tell your analysis is entirely correct you’re speaking to people who won’t agree with it.
Peter your analysis is majorly correct however you put everyone of them into one group, there is good and bad in everything so to assume they’re all good would be completely ignorant.
Congratulations to Peter on being the font of all knowledge. This dummy is sure glad to have him here to educate me
These guys need to take their oil and accept the offer because they sure as hell won’t get as much if they pull the plug and Greece fully defaults.
banks are corrupt. I once worked as an internal bank auditor and discovered we were illegally charging a a type fee on a certain type home loan, they had me turn over months of work that included that type loan to be shredded.
have your say