PARIS: The International Monetary Fund is pressing for the European Central Bank to forego potential profits on the 40 billion euros ($52 billion) in Greek debt that it holds, the Financial Times said Wednesday.
The newspaper reported that eurozone officials said the ECB was resisting pressure from the IMF "to earmark potential gains to fill Greece's financing hole."
The ECB bought Greek bonds at substantial discounts as it sought to underpin the eurozone banking system and could make a handsome profit if Greece does not default and the bonds are held to maturity.
Private lenders have voiced irritation at ECB insistence that the bonds it holds be paid in full while banks are being coerced into accepting a loss of at least 50 percent on theirs.
Charles Dallara, the head negotiator for a group of banks and insurance companies that own around 200 billion euros in Greek debt, called Tuesday in Zurich on "all parties to honour their commitments."
Greece is in tough talks with private creditors to cut 100 billion euros from the amount of debt they are owed.
Athens faces a March 20 deadline to reimburse bonds worth 14.5 billion euros, failing which it would have to declare a default that would seriously upset efforts to resolve the eurozone's two-year-old debt crisis.
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