France, banks agree on Greek debt

The French treasury and banks have agreed on a proposition to make a Greek debt rollover more palatable to creditors through a combination of longer maturities and less risk, Le Figaro reported yesterday. Under the plan, creditors would reinvest just 70 per cent of the proceeds reimbursed when Greek debt falls due, with 50 per cent going into new Greek debt with a maturity of 30 years instead of five, the newspaper said on its website. The other 20 per cent would be reinvested in a "zero coupon" fund focused on high-quality stocks that would grow, providing a degree of security in place of state guarantees, it said. The French finance ministry was not immediately available for comment. German banks, which say they have up to €20 billion (Dh104.2 billion) of exposure to Greece, have called for the state to guarantee their risk with taxpayer money should they participate in some form of a debt rollover. The Greek government will try to push through a deeply unpopular set of austerity measures this week to enable it to receive the next €12 billion tranche of bailout loans it needs to avoid defaulting on debt that matures in mid-July. Greece accepted a package of €110 billion of EU/IMF loans in May 2010 but now needs a second bailout of a similar size to meet its financial obligations until the end of 2014, when it hopes to return to the capital markets for funding. Eurozone finance ministers have said they will define by early July "the main parameters" of a new international bailout plan. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told Bild am Sonntag he expected private sector creditors to participate willingly in a second bailout package, underlining also that Greece would not receive the next aid tranche if the government's austerity plans were vetoed. The Greek parliament is due to vote this week on measures that include €6.5 billion of extra austerity steps for this year. From / Gulf News