Mr. Spread's entry into the Guiness Book of Records

Greek ten-year bond spreads have reached a new record high, exceeding 1300 units, after the ECB’s statements about non-acceptance of bonds by Greek banks in the event of debt restructuring.

The movements in the bond market cause nervousness, however, as demonstrated during the past few days, some foreign banks were net buyers - in long-term bonds - while expecting an announcement.

The government will make important statements about the medium-term plan. The market, however, awaits not just the statements, but also the government’s commitment to a timetable.

According to yesterday’s foreign press reports, the management of the Greek debt has caused headaches and intense controversy within the circles of the EU and ECB, while Reuters mentions that the most predominant scenario is currently the voluntary retention of Greek government bonds by banks for the period of 2011-2014.

Furthermore, the ECB President Jean Claude Trichet has opposed the idea of extending the Greek debt since, as he stated, if this happens, the ECB will stop accepting Greek bonds as collateral to provide bank liquidity.

“At some point the country should be able to stop borrowing… The government is negotiating with the ECB, IMF and EU for an assessment and continuity plan, which doesn’t depend only on the release of the next installment but is included in next year’s planning… We want to go to the markets in 2012. If we can not enter the markets in 2012, we should have a solution in advance. So this solution is still being negotiated”, stated Mr. Papakonstantinou.