Finance ministers to weigh latest Greek debt proposal
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The Greek government submitted a request to European Stability Mechanism for a two-year agreement to will fully cover the country’s financing needs and includes debt restructuring at the same time. Bloomberg
European finance ministers on Wednesday were set to discuss a last-minute bailout proposal from Greece after it became the first developed-world country to miss a repayment to the International Monetary Fund.
The emergency conference call in Brussels comes after eurozone officials on rejected an appeal from Athens to extend an international aid package that has been propping up Greece’s economy since the financial crisis.
When Greece failed to repay $ 1.8 billion to the IMF on Tuesday might it joined the ranks of Zimbabwe, Haiti, Sudan, Somalia and Afghanistan under the Taliban — all nations that have reneged on IMF loans.
No new financial lifeline for Greece was immediately forthcoming.
And after Greece’s second bailout program came to an abrupt end, the country’s finance ministry ordered around 1,000 banks to reopen Wednesday so that retirees who don’t have bank cards would be able to cash pension checks.
Banks across Greece have been closed since Monday and cash withdrawal limits for residents at ATMs — about $ 68 per day — have been put in place.
On Sunday, Greece is expected to hold a national referendum on the austerity measures demanded by its international creditors — the IMF, European Central Bank and European Commission — in return for a new aid package.
Greece’s ruling Syriza party under Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says the vote is necessary to strengthen his government’s negotiating position. European leaders counter that the vote is effectively a judgment on whether Greece wants to stay in the eurozone, a 19-nation economic and currency collective.
A new opinion poll published Wednesday by the Efimerida ton Syntakton newspaper showed that most Greeks are likely to vote “No” to the terms proposed by the creditors, but the “No” side’s lead appeared to be narrowing.
Global markets pushed higher Wednesday as investors waited for news out of the talks by eurozone finance ministers. Stock market indexes around the world have traded with marked volatility this week.
MARKETS:Wall Street stock futures higher as investors wait for next Greek step
The European Central Bank is also meeting Wednesday, in Frankfurt, to discuss whether it should alter the terms under which it has been providing emergency finance to Greece’s banks.
Without that support, Greek lenders could find it increasingly difficult to meet their short-term liquidity needs, a scenario that could dramatically up the stakes for Athens as it tries to avert financial collapse ahead of Sunday’s vote.
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