Greece will see the benefits of a landmark debt swap with private creditors "sooner than expected" if it sticks to planned reforms, a senior bank official who helped steer the deal said Sunday. Greeks "will start seeing the benefits sooner than expected... I can see the light at the end of the tunnel much sooner than others can," Charles Dallara, managing director of the International Institute of Finance, told Ethnos daily.
The IIF, a global association representing over 400 banks and investment firms, worked with Greece and the EU for months on the landmark deal to erase over 100 billion euros ($133 billion) from Athens' near and midterm debt.
A broad majority of Greek debt holders accepted the offer on Friday and the actual exchange will take place on Monday.
Holders of Greek debt are to receive new bonds with a face value equal to 31.5 percent of the face amount of the debt exchanged, plus short-term European Financial Stability Facility backed by the EU's strongest economies.
"I believe that pessimism should go home for awhile and give hope a chance to grow. No other country has ever seen so much debt destroyed. This will happen on Monday in the space of a minute," Dallara said.