Deal on Greek debt 'very close'
2012-02-02 17:31:07
A deal between Greece and its private-sector creditors is "very close" and could be reached in a matter of "days or weeks," the head of Germany's biggest bank, Josef Ackermann, said on Thursday.
Already in Athens on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Institute of International Finance -- which represents banks locked in negotiations with Greece for a debt write-off deal -- had also expressed hopes for an accord in the coming days.
And Ackermann, who heads the IIF, made similar comments at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Speaking at Deutsche Bank's annual earnings news conference in Frankfurt, the 63-year-old Swiss-born bank chief said he was "likely" to travel to Athens this weekend.
Private-sector creditors are being asked to accept a so-called "haircut" or debt writedown of "70 percent or more" on their holdings of Greek debt, he said.
"The question is, whether others contribute as well," Ackermann said, in an apparent reference to EU states and the European Central Bank.
Beyond debt restructuring talks, Greece is also in negotiations with public creditors -- the European Union and the International Monetary Fund -- to finalise a new series of measures in order to unlock 130 billion euros of loans which were promised by the eurozone in October.