Greece yields set another record as ECB stands firm
YIELDS on Greek debt again set new records yesterday as the major players in the Eurozone reiterated their opposing stances on the terms of a new rescue for the struggling sovereign.
ECB board member Mario Draghi, who is also its incoming president, voiced his support for the Bank’s position that non-governmental investors in Greece’s debt should not be asked to take losses as part of a new bailout, a stance that both Germany and Holland firmly oppose.
“The ECB is not in favour of restructuring or haircuts, we should exclude all concepts that are not purely voluntary or that have any element of compulsion,” he told the European Parliament during a hearing on his proposed appointment as the ECB’s new president.
The ECB is estimated to have €444bn (£392bn) in direct exposure to peripheral sovereign debt.
Draghi added that on the sovereign crisis: “There are no shortcuts available. The response to the debt crisis lies first and foremost in national policies.”
Yields on Athens’ ten-year bonds reached new highs of 17.4 per cent while two-year rates shot to 26.4 per cent.