The ECB will offer a complex set of debt swaps to lower the near term pressure on Greek sovereign paper and help affect an overall bailout of the nation, which needs to receive the second round of its aid payments by March, or face default
The European Central Bank has made key concessions over its holdings of Greek government bonds that will contribute to a reduction of the country’s debt burden, according to people briefed on Greece’s ongoing debt-restructuring negotiations.
The ECB has agreed to exchange the Greek government bonds it purchased in the secondary market last year at a price below face value, provided the debt restructuring talks under way find a successful outcome.
The ECB won’t make a loss on the transaction, but it is not clear whether the bank will exchange the bonds at the below-par price at which it purchased them or whether it will make a profit, these people said.