Schaeuble Warns Defaults Can Surprise
As negotiations head down to the wire, Schaeuble repeats a message he gave a month ago Defaults Can Surprise.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned that sovereign defaults can catch officials off guard as Greece prepares for a finance ministers’ meeting Monday with the European Central Bank threatening to tighten the screw.
Greek officials are huddling with their creditors before the gathering in Brussels which could determine whether the ECB restricts the country’s access to emergency funding. ECB policy makers are looking for signs of concrete progress from the talks to justify maintaining access to the bank’s Emergency Liquidity Assistance.
Deal Difficult
Reuters reports Greece says deal will be ‘difficult’ at Eurogroup meeting
Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis acknowledged that a deal to ease Greece’s cash crunch was not likely at a meeting of euro zone finance ministers later on Monday despite progress in talks with lenders on some issues.
Greece is under growing pressure to reach agreement with lenders to avoid financial chaos though many Greeks also want the government to stick to its “red lines” of avoiding further pension cuts and labor reforms making it easier to fire workers.
A 750 million euro debt repayment to the IMF falls due on Tuesday but Varoufakis said a deal that would provide some liquidity relief for Greece was more likely in the coming days.
“Τhe likelihood is not ruled out. The messages we are getting are that it will be difficult,” Varoufakis told Sto Kokkino radio on Monday.
Timeline of Obligations
The above from Goldman Sachs via Steen Jakobsen.
IMF Works on Contingency Plans for Greek Default
The Wall Street Journal reports IMF Works With Greece’s Neighbors to Contain Default Risks.
