The head of European sovereign debt analysis at Standard & Poor΄s Ratings Group said that the chance of a general debt restructuring by Greece is “"almost one-third”, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
Moritz Kraemer told German weekly Die Zeit that for a restructuring to be effective, creditors may have to forego between 50% and 70% of their claims.
He expects the European Union first to examine the possibility of lightening Greece΄s burden by extending debt maturities and cutting the interest rates payable.
However, this would make little sense if the end effect would only be to cut Greece΄s debt load to 130% of gross domestic product from 160% of GDP, according to S&P analyst.
By contrast, Kraemer said that the situation in Ireland and Portugal was nowhere near as "dramatic" as in Greece, while a restructuring of Irish debt is considered extraordinarily unlikely, as the country had "reached a turning point".
source: CAPITAL
