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February 25th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda The Greek government approved the bond exchange offer on Friday.
Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos told the cabinet after the approval that the country had “made a titanic effort to finalize the decision on PSI (Private Sector Involvement) and conditions for granting the aid.”
“The legal procedure is satisfactory but there are still unresolved issues,” he added.
The bond swap deal is part of a second bailout for Greece approved by Eurozone finance ministers during a meeting in Brussels on February 20. It is expected to cancel about 107 billion euros (143 billion dollars) in Greek government bonds and it will be concluded by March 12.
According to the second bailout package, Greece will get loans of more than 130 billion euros (174 billion dollars). The first bailout, which was approved by Eurozone finance ministers on May 2, 2010, was worth 110 billion euros (147 billion dollars).
Under the latest deal, banks, insurers, and other investors will trade bonds for lower-value debt securities and holders of about 206 billion euros (276 billion dollars) of Greek government bonds will take a 53.5 percent loss in the face value of their securities. The actual losses are about 73 to 74 percent.
However, Greece said it was not obliged to carry out the swap unless it had 90 percent participation and if the participation was below 90 percent but above 75 percent, then Greece would consult with its public creditors.
The Institute of International Finance (IIF) negotiated the bond swap deal with the Greek government.
IIF Managing Director Charles Dallara, who negotiated the deal on behalf of the private sector, said on Friday that it was a “historical, unprecedented restructuring of sovereign debt.”
“We are quite optimistic that once investors study the proposal carefully… there will be a high take up in a voluntary fashion,” he stated.
The bond exchange deal would help the government repay a three-year Greek bond worth 14.43 billion euros (19.35 billion dollars) that matures on March 20.
In addition, the Greek parliament is expected to adopt two laws, requested by the European Union, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, by March 1. The laws would introduce new salary and pension cuts and restructure the existing healthcare system, mostly by merging hospitals and reducing medical expenditures.
Meanwhile, new strikes and demonstrations are scheduled to be held in Athens on Wednesday, which European labor unions have declared a day of action against austerity.
HSN/HGL
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