EUR

The latest on that GREEK RESTRUCTURING CHATTER

From MNI FX Bullets

GREECE: Greek 10-year spread hit fresh record high at +1131bps vs
Bunds earlier on continued speculation in the market of a debt
restructuring, as soon as this Easter weekend. Talk so far is of a
haircut of between 40-50% is required to make Greece's debt sustainable,
and also a possible voluntary extension of bond maturities. However,
both methods are likely to costly.

Last summer's stress tests showed
Hypo Real Estate, BNP Paribas and Societe Generale reportedly have the
largest exposures to Greek sovereign debt and any haircut likely to put
further strain on capital adequacy ahead of the next stress tests.
However, Greece is no stranger to restructuring having already been
through this at the last EU leaders Summit in mid-March, where interest
rates on bi-lateral loans to Greece were lowered by 100bps and the
maturity of loans extended to 7.5 years, in line with the IMF's terms.
Restructuring talk first surfaced last May after the Greek government
hired Lazard & Co, who then hired Wall Street legend Felix Rohatyn,
whose was involved in the restructuring of New York City in the 1970s.


Ashraf