Key creditors holding a bloc of more than 39% of privately held Greek debt said they would take part in a bond swap, a condition for an overall bail-out to save Greece from default. Thirty companies on a committee of private investors that helped negotiate the swap deal said they "strongly support the recent agreements among Greece, Euro Area authorities and the IMF." The investors, part of the Private Creditor-Investor Committee for Greece, hold €81 billion in Greek debt "or 39.3% of the 206 billion euro total PSI eligible debt," a statement from the group said. Banks, insurers and investment funds holding debt issued under Greek law must decide by tomorrow night whether to write off half of the money they are owed under the so-called Private Sector Initiative (PSI) At least 75% of eligible debt under Greek law must be tendered for the swap to go forward. Greece has warned that rejection of the hard-won agreement could cost investors much more in the longer term. The deal would wipe €107 billion off Greece's debt and unlock a €130 billion rescue package from its euro zone partners.
Earlier, the EU's Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn told French newspaper Le Figaro that the cancellation of a large chunk of Greece's debt should take place "without a hitch.
"According to our information, the debt swap should take place without a hitch since the operation is interesting financially for the private sector," Rehn said in the interview.
The commissioner was asked about the possibility that holders of default insurance policies, known as credit default swaps, would claim payment if the Greek swap offer went badly.