Any rescheduling of Greek debt would constitute a default only if it is imposed on private investors rather than strictly voluntary, a spokesman for credit ratings agency Moody's said Friday.
International backers of a second bailout plan for Greece are currently considering delaying debt repayments, possibly via a bond rollover, to ward off the threat of a sovereign default, while anxious not to spook investors.
Moody's will be considering carefully whether private bondholders will agree to "rollover" their loans, or maintain their exposures to Greek debt, and whether they are given a real choice in the matterer, the spokesman said in emailed comments to AFP.
"A Vienna-style initiative is assumed to be voluntary", he said, referring to a 2009 deal in which banks agreed to push back deadlines for repayments on loans to Romania.
"If we come to the conclusion that (Greek rescheduling) was imposed on creditors, then we will decide that it probably constitutes a default," he added.
eu.business
