Greece’s private creditors pleaded on Tuesday with European officials who rejected their bond swap offer to hammer together a deal before Athens tumbles into a chaotic default.
Athens’ hopes for a swift deal with lenders were evaporating after euro zone ministers on Monday rejected creditors’ demand for a 4% coupon, or interest rate, on new, longer-dated bonds in exchange for existing debt.
The country is desperate for a deal to ensure funds from a €130 billion rescue plan drawn up by European partners and the International Monetary Fund arrive before €14.5 billion of bond redemptions fall due in March.
“It’s important that all parties recognise how much we have at stake and work together and cooperate to find a solution,” said Charles Dallara, who negotiates in the name of private bondholders through the International Institute of Finance (IIF).
Dallara declined to comment on whether his group would back down on the demand for a 4% coupon billed as their “final offer” and said the position was already clear.
Greece says it is not prepared to pay a coupon of more than 3.5% which would impose steeper losses on its private creditors.
Comments