European banks not rushing to help Greece

FRANKFURT: Eurozone banks aren't rushing to contribute to a second rescue package for Greece, which is currently under discussion and could involve them agreeing to renew loans to Athens.

"Participation by private creditors should only take place if all other options have failed," the German federation of private banks said Tuesday in a statement.

European political leaders, especially in Germany, have insisted however that private banks play a part in any new plans for Greece, which is being crushed by some 350 billion euros ($500 billion) in debt.

Given a lack of acceptable options, "it looks increasingly likely that the (credit) rollover idea is the way forward," ING strategist Padhraic Garvey said.

On Monday, European Central Bank (ECB) president Jean-Claude Trichet told Canadian television CBC such a solution would be "appropriate" because it would not mean an official restructuring of Greece's debt, which the ECB is opposed to.

But exchanging old bonds for new ones with an identical face value would mean an "instantaneous" loss for banks because the value of Greek bonds has been marked down on money markets, Garvey noted.

He estimated that 75 percent of European banks would have to agree to the scheme for it to work, and 90 percent "would really be required in order to make a rollover a real success."

European governments, which own stakes in some banks, could be tempted to "influence" them, Berenberg Bank chief economist Holger Schmieding noted.

"If their countries ask them to hold onto Greek bonds, they will," he told a media briefing in Frankfurt.

One way of making the pill easier to swallow could be for the ECB to apply a smaller discount on the value of new bonds used as collateral against central bank loans compared with the older ones, Schmieding said.

But for the plan to work, "it would be important that all banks participate, and there would have to be political coordination among all European countries for that," he added.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011