Greek Bond Swap Concluded Successfully!

• It appears the Greeks managed to get 85% on board for their debt restructuring. It remains to be seen whether the ISDA will declare a default for the remaining 15% who refused to participate.
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  Greek bond swap concluded successfully! 
  By William L. Watts, www.MarketWatch.com
  FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) — Greece completed a crucial debt swap with private creditors on Thursday, clearing the way for the country to substantially lower its debt burden and moving it closer to receiving a badly needed second official bailout, according to media reports.
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  Bondholders representing some 85% of Greece’s outstanding private-sector debt, well above the government’s minimum threshold, have signed up to take part in the swap, according to the reports. The high rate of participation will allow Greece to force any holders of bonds regulated under Greek law to participate in the swap.
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  Bloomberg reported that 155 billion euros ($205 billion) of the 177 billion in bonds issued under Greek law were tendered. Citing a banker briefed on the deal, it said 12 billion euros of non-Greek regulated bonds and 7 billion euros of state-owned company bonds were also tendered.
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  The success of the deal will cut Greece’s debt burden by more than 100 billion euros and remove one of the last hurdles keeping its official creditors from moving forward with an official bailout worth 130 billion euros.
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  The developments helped lift risk appetite in financial markets, boosting European equities and U.S. stock indexes, strategists said. They warned, though, that the positive sentiment may prove fragile.
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  “The deal … is just one more hurdle in a crisis that is still very likely to bring further bad news in the coming months,” said Jane Foley, senior currency strategist at Rabobank International in London.
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  … for more click here!

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