News | Wednesday, 21 April 2010

Greece might need up to €80 billion

European Central Bank Governing Council member Axel Weber said Greece may require assistance of up to 80 billion euros (52 billion pounds) to avoid default, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.
Weber also told legislators that Greece’s debt situation was worsening and that “the numbers are changing all the time,” the newspaper said, citing a source.
Separately, German newspaper Bild said Weber warned the total amount of aid Greece requires may not be known until later, drawing a parallel with the case of nationalised German property lender Hypo Real Estate in 2008.
Both papers said Weber, who is also Bundesbank president, made the comments at an event on Monday to parliamentarians from the Free Democrats, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s junior coalition partners.
The Bundesbank declined to give immediate comment.
Euro zone leaders agreed a giant EU/IMF fall-back aid package for Greece earlier this month.
However, the move has failed to quell market concerns. The premium demanded to hold Greek bonds rather than German benchmarks rose to a euro era record of 482 basis points on Monday. The cost of protecting Greek government debt against default also hit a record high.

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