Of Special Interest
Filters
- Newslink Trends-The Global Strategic Perspective
- Juniper Research says digital wallet users to exceed 4.4 billion by 2025, as mobile drives digital payments’ revolution
- Criminals exploit COVID-19 pandemic with rise in scams targeting victims online
- Equifax says Open Banking proving pivotal to pandemic lending
- Consumer confidence in banks, credit card providers and investments remain stable as demand supercharges digital finance says Toluna research
- Mintos says Europeans are starting to embrace investing
- US banks see IT modernisation as a way to improve customer experience
- Risk mitigation in global trade depends on digitisation-Andrew Raymond, CEO, Bolero International comments
- Juniper Research new study says the volume of B2B payments facilitated by non-banks will exceed 53 billion in 2022, from a COVID-related low of 38 billion in 2020
- CMA issues fifth publication over 3 years of the service quality league table of personal and business current account providers
- Barclays says scammers take advantage of COVID-19, cashing in on nations’ uncertainty
- S&P Global report says financial market infrastructure sector's earnings likely to cool off In second half
- Global banking market capitalisation slumps by over 30% amid pandemic says Buyshares research
- Digital wallet spend in Europe & North America to increase by 40% in 2019, finds study
- Juniper forecasts mobile money transactions will exceed 200 billion by 2024
- Banks can save the world from climate change, says former UN climate chief
- Research by NatWest reveals gender divide over attitudes to saving
- Europe’s big bank problem: too much capital is trapped in the US, says Scope
- Later-Life lending market set to almost double in the next 10 years, finds report
- Barclays/Cebr report challenges nation to think differently about wealth
- Fifth of UK investors looking to debt investment, new research reveals
- Regtech will play a more important role in PSD2, says Mitek
- Banks turn to Fintech partnerships to improve customer experience, finds Fraedom
- New industry code to tackle fraud must deliver, says Which?
- New TTF report highlights loss of trust in financial services
- Arxan highlights financial app vulnerability epidemic
- SAS asks whether banks really need to choose between operations and innovation
- Which? raises alarm as almost 1,700 free ATMs become fee-charging
- Financial wellness affects half of peoples’ mental or physical health, finds report
- Study finds traditional financial institutions embrace Fintech disruption
- Grass is greener for environmentally friendly businesses, finds Barclays
- Prospective homeowners would consider a 40-year mortgage to escape renting, finds Santander
- Millennials’ needs are changing the face of banking industry, says new report
- FS is putting consumer data at risk by failing to protect mobile apps, says Arxan
- A lack of belief in their ability holds 28% women back in work, says Cambridge & Counties
- ‘Which?’ reveals Scotland has lost over a third of its bank branches in eight years
- Next downturn unlikely to be as bad as 2008, according to S&P
- FCA reveals findings from first cryptoassets consumer research
- US consumers favour single mobile app for banking and payments
- Banks suffering major IT shutdowns every day, ‘Which?’ reveals
- The US will be a key offshore centre in 2019, says GlobalData
- Debit industry changes markedly in 10 years of the Debit Issuer Study
- UK's ‘Big Five’ face ‘too big to compete’ as small challengers secure stellar returns
- Banks as vulnerable now as before crash, says new study
- Leverage ratio a constant conundrum for European and US banks, says SNL
29th November 2011
Further writedowns of Greek bonds possible
Greece is understood to be considering a cut in sovereign bonds to 25% of Net Present Value. This compares with the 40-50% that had been expected. The difference is significant to the Greek government as each percentage the value is written down represents over €2bn reduction in the national debt amount owed just from the bonds in private sector hands (Reuters calculation).
Until now the Institute of International Finance, a bank sponsored lobby group has been closely involved with the negotiations. They are thought likely to end involvement in the negotiations as they are no longer seen as adding value by either side. The Greek government has held discussion directly with some of the banks and funds holding the largest amounts of Greek bonds according to reliable sources. Some of the banks would like the Greek government to declare terms which would generate a credit incident - in other words creating an officially recognised default so that they can claim on their Credit Default Swap hedges. This would clearly help certain banks who are well hedged and think it unjust they have not been able to claim under arrangements to date. Where the burden would then fall in terms of those issuing the CDS has not been published to date.
There is another reason the attempts at 'voluntary' writedowns of Greek bonds may collapse and that is the holdings by banks and other institutions who have refused the voluntary writedown option. All involved in negotiations to date agree it would be utterly wrong if those not agreeing to the voluntary writedown were still to be paid out 100% at the end of the process.
A precedent has been set by Ireland with bank bonds. Most bonds require a significant majority of bondholders to vote for any change to the payout rules. Bondholders were given the choice of accepting a figure often around 20% of the value by means of an exchange or to face having a value imposed that was a fraction of 1%. Ireland got its majorities in favour and all legal actions against the arrangements failed. Greece, like Ireland, would have to pass emergency laws in order to make this possible.