Greece may force creditors to take losses
18:12, 18 January 2012
ATHENS. January 18. KAZINFORM Greece will consider legislation forcing private creditors to take losses on their holdings, if it fails to reach agreement in critical negotiations scheduled to resume on Wednesday, Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said.
In an interview with The New York Times published on Wednesday, Papademos said that if Greece did not receive 100 percent participation in a program in which bondholders would voluntarily write down $130 billion of Greece's $450 billion debt, the country would consider passing a law to require holdouts to take losses.
"It is something that has to be considered in the light of expectations about the degree of the participation to be achieved," Papademos was quoted as saying.
The premier's statement came after Greece failed to agree with creditors on a voluntary default, in which the private bondholders would consent to a 50 percent reduction or more in the value of their holdings.
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