Financial Times
September 23, 2011
Greece’s government scrambled to reassure investors that it would abide by the terms of a €110bn bail-out deal afer the country’s finance minister was quoted as telling ruling party legislators that a default that would see creditors lose half their money appeared to be Athens’ “best” option.
According to comments reported in newspaper Ta Nea on Friday, Evangelos Venizelos told Socialist MPs that an orderly default with a 50 per cent “haircut” for creditors was the best of three available scenarios. “It is very dangerous for us to ask for it. This requires agreed and co-ordinated effort by many,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.
Mr Venizelos rushed to declare that Greece remained committed to the terms of an European Union/International Monetary Fund bail-out programme after the main index on the Athens stock market lost more than 4 per cent following the reports.
“All other discussions, rumours, comments, scenarios, which are diverting our attention from this central target and Greece’s political obligation ... do not help our common European task,” he said.
He was joined by the Greek prime minister, George Papandreou, who told ruling Socialist party MPs that Athens had “chosen to implement” the bail-out deal.
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