Greece Still Short of Reaching Debt Write-Off Goal

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　　The Athens government says it needs the banks, pension funds and other financial institutions holding at least two-thirds of the country's private debt to agree to the write-down. But by Wednesday, agreements had only been reached covering 46 percent of the debt.

　　The debt write-down is part of Greece's effort to secure a new $172-billion bailout and avoid a default on its financial obligations.

　　Five small Greek pension funds holding about one percent of the bonds eligible¹ for the write-down have rejected the deal, as have several investment funds and Germany's best-selling newspaper, Bild. Greece says that if it hits the two-thirds threshold for the reduction, it could seek to force the deal on its remaining creditors².

　　One German investment trader, Andreas Lipkow, said he thinks that in the end, Greece will be able to cut enough of its debt.

　　"Yes there would legally be a default if the quota³ [of the Greek bond swap] will not be high enough, but I think that the pressure is high enough so that quota will be reached," said Lipkow. "I don't really see any repercussions⁴ for the international markets by a default by Greece as that is already anticipated by the markets. The ratings agencies have already reacted and downgraded the bonds, interesting for the markets would be mandatory⁵ CDS [Credit Default Swaps⁶ insurance] payoff, as that would become very expensive for some market participants."

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