Tags: POLITICS andGOVERNMENT | BONDS | BANKS | GREECE | ECONOMY | SOROS

Soros: Greece Needs Cheaper Loan Rates from Germany

Friday, 09 April 2010 09:20 AM EDT

Billionaire financier George Soros said on Friday the Greek debt crisis was solvable if Germany agreed that any emerging lending would be made with concessionary interest rates.

Current market rates were exaggerated by confusion about how a bailout might work, he told Reuters in an interview.

"If Germany was willing to find a way ... of lending at concessional rates, market rates would come down," he said, on the sidelines of an economic conference.

Soros said confusion over whether Germany was willing to provide funding for Greece at rates below current market levels was effectively boosting those market rates.

"I hope that Germany will realize that talking about lending at market rates is the wrong remedy. It would push Greece into the abyss," he said.

Soros also said there was no room for hedge funds in the Greek debt market at the moment because the risk was too great, particularly in what he termed the "toxic" market for credit default swaps.

Turning to the separate issue of whether China was planning to revalue its currency, Soros said: "I am pretty convinced some kind of understanding (between the United States and China) has been reached."

He added, however, that he was not privy to specific information.

"President Hu would not be coming to the nuclear disarmament conference in Washington if immediately thereafter there would be a confrontation on the renminbi," he said.

The next test of market sentiment towards Greek government debt will be on Tuesday, when the Greek debt management agency (PDMA) plans to sell six-month and one-year bills.

Greece has said it is fully funded for April when an 8.2 billion euro government bond matures, but it is not clear whether 3.85 billion of T-bills maturing in the next two weeks are also covered without next week's sales.

Traders say the market for Greek government bills is effectively frozen but indicative yields are around 7 percent on six-month and one-year paper.

© 2025 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.


StreetTalk
Billionaire financier George Soros said on Friday the Greek debt crisis was solvable if Germany agreed that any emerging lending would be made with concessionary interest rates. Current market rates were exaggerated by confusion about how a bailout might work, he told...
POLITICS andGOVERNMENT,BONDS,BANKS,GREECE,ECONOMY,SOROS
322
2010-20-09
Friday, 09 April 2010 09:20 AM
Newsmax Media, Inc.

Sign up for Newsmax’s Daily Newsletter

Receive breaking news and original analysis - sent right to your inbox.

(Optional for Local News)
Privacy: We never share your email address.
Join the Newsmax Community
Read and Post Comments
Please review Community Guidelines before posting a comment.
 
Get Newsmax Text Alerts
TOP

Newsmax, Moneynews, Newsmax Health, and Independent. American. are registered trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc. Newsmax TV, and Newsmax World are trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc.

NEWSMAX.COM
MONEYNEWS.COM
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
NEWSMAX.COM
MONEYNEWS.COM
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved