Greek Debt Swap Could Lose Bondholders More than 70%

Holders of Greek bonds could be facing a loss of more than 70% of the net present value on their holdings according to the country’s finance minister. The loss would include a writedown of debt and an interest rate on…

Published January 31, 2012, 2:01pm ET · 1 min read

Holders of Greek bonds could be facing a loss of more than 70% of the net present value on their holdings according to the country’s finance minister. The loss would include a writedown of debt and an interest rate on the new bonds of less than 4%.

A report on Bloomberg News does not offer additional details, although it is by now widely believed that Greece will have to agree to more spending cuts and labor reforms in order to make the deal, which would release a €130 billion bailout package to the country in time to meet its March debt repayment schedule.

If the deal gets done, and is subsequently rejected by the Greek parliament, the country would almost certainly have to endure a messy default. Demonstrations by union workers are already on tap for next month, and they will be even noisier than usual if the austerity measures cut as deeply as anticipated.

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Paul Ausick

Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.

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