Greece

There is almost no precedent for what has happened to Greece since 2008. Yet despite the salutary counterexamples of emerging markets that let their currencies float to provide monetary stimulus, Greece has thus far determined to remain a member of the euro area, the Financial Times reported in a commentary. Some attribute this to love: the latest Eurobarometer survey shows 64 per cent of Greeks support “a European economic and monetary union with one single currency, the euro”, while only 32 per cent are opposed.

The Greek government is planning an unprecedented debt swap worth 29.7 billion euros ($34.5 billion) aimed at boosting the liquidity of its paper and easing the sale of new bonds in the future, Bloomberg News reported. Under a project that could be launched in mid November, the government plans to swap 20 bonds issued after a restructuring of Greek debt held by private investors in 2012 with as many as five new fixed-coupon bonds, according to two senior bankers with knowledge of the swap plan. The bank officials requested anonymity as the plan has yet to be made public.

Greece is getting ready to exit its bailout program next year and the country is finally emerging from nearly a decade of financial depression and stagnation, the International New York Times reported on an Associated Press story. For most Greeks, however, the recovery is likely to be slow and painful as austerity measures will endure for years to come. That's particularly true for many startups, which the government has put its faith in to help the economy grow, but are burdened by red tape and the high taxes meant to pay for the country's debts.

Eurobank has become the latest Greek bank to tap capital markets, selling a covered bond that bankers say is designed to be eligible for ECB purchases, the Financial Times reported. The €500m bond, which matures in 2020, was priced this afternoon at a yield of just below 3 per cent. It represents the lender’s first foray into international markets in three years. Covered bonds, a centuries-old form of European financing, are issued by banks and secured against pools of loans. As such, they provide investors with additional security in the event of default.

Greece’s Eurobank is tapping the bond market for the first time in more than three years, becoming the country’s latest lender to sell a type of debt that may ultimately be bought by the European Central Bank, the Financial Times reported. The bank has hired a consortium of investment banks to sell a three-year covered bond as early as next week, as the broader Greek financial sector returns to international markets following a multiyear hiatus.

When Eurobank Ergasias SA, Greece’s third-biggest lender, recently went after a “strategic defaulter,” angry protesters stormed the courtroom to block its foreclosure attempt. The defaulter, whose name the lender won’t disclose, had not serviced its loans for the last five years and owed the bank 4.85 million euros ($5.7 million), Bloomberg News reported. Over the same period, it had collected about 6 million euros in dividends from its 41 percent holding in a food company, showing, according to the bank, that it could honor its commitments.

With just months left before Greece’s latest lifeline expires, all bets are off on whether it’ll need more support. Officials directly involved in the country’s bailout say they don’t have the stomach for another strings-attached aid program when the current one expires in August 2018, Bloomberg News reported. Worn out after seven years of endless cliffhanger negotiations, both Athens and its European creditors are keen to turn the page. That said, Greece needs to show it can go it alone while Euro-area creditors have to be sure they can recover their money.

National Bank of Greece has sold a €750m covered bond, marking the first time the country’s banking sector has tapped international capital markets since 2014. Covered bonds are issued by banks and backed by pools of loans, providing the investor with additional safety in the event of default, the Financial Times reported. The three-year bond, which is rated single B by Fitch, pays a coupon of 2.75 per cent. The yield on the Greek 2-year sovereign is currently at 3.14 per cent.

The Greek economy will remain under close supervision for years after the completion of the third bailout deal, the president of the Euro Working Group (EWG), Thomas Wieser told insider.gr in an interview published on Wednesday. Even though he is confident the cash-strapped country will be able to recover, Wieser says that a lot of work needs to be done first, starting with the timely completion of the third bailout review, the Financial Times reported. He also suggests that additional measures may be needed in 2019 and 2020 depending on the course of the budget next year.

Greece is back as the litmus test of investor faith in the future of the eurozone. But this time, the news is positive, the Financial Times reported. Having been shut out of markets for the past three years, Greece has dipped its toe back into the debt waters on Tuesday with a five-year bond and investors dived in. The yield, or return on the bond, came in at 4.625 per cent — Greece paid 4.95 per cent the last time it issued a bond under the centre-right government of Antonis Samaras in 2014 (yields fall when a bond’s price rises).