Germany΄s major banks have agreed to take part in a new aid program for Greece by accepting longer maturities on some EUR2 billion in bonds that currently fall due in 2014, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Thursday.
Speaking to reporters alongside Deutsche Bank AG Chief Executive Josef Ackermann, Schaeuble said German banks hold some EUR10 billion in Greek government bonds but about 55% of them aren΄t due to mature until after 2020.
The smaller portion due by 2014, around EUR2 billion, would be the focus of this agreement, he said.
Schaeuble said the agreement, based on a similar proposal put forward in France, would help euro-zone finance ministers determine the broad outlines of a new aid package for Greece. The so-called Eurogroup meets Sunday in Brussels.
Ackermann said he recognizes that banks and euro-zone governments need to cooperate on a “quantifiable, sustainable solution.”
“We are certain that Greece needs to be helped with further aid,” he said.
(source: Dow Jones)
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