Greek Judge Writes Off €82,000 Personal Debt To Banks

European Finance Ministers Meet Today To Confirm Euro Collapse

European finance ministers will meet today to finalise the terms for Greek debt restructuring.

Article | January 23, 2012 – 10:14am
Resolving the issue of the Greek debt swap is considered key to keeping the Euro going for another few weeks. Under the terms of the deal, private investors will swap their current, unrepayable, Greek government bonds for some equally unrepayable bonds of lesser value. Private investors are expected to take a so-called “haircut” of between sixty and seventy percent.

However, these private investors, including hedge funds, are unwilling to take the haircut unless they can claw back some of it through the interest paid on the new bonds. It is this size of this interest rate that is the main sticking point. The new bonds are expected to be over 30 years, with an ever increasing interest rate, and it is the percentage that this will average out to which is the sticking point in the negotiations.

Private investors have said that their current proposals are their final offer, and European finance ministers will announce later today whether or not they can proceed on the basis of that offer.

They are also expected to announce the continued hyperinflationary pumping of funny money by the European Central banks, and to make the rather ridiculous statement that Greece is a unique situation, despite Portugal catching up rapidly.

http://www.ukcolumn.org/article/european-finance-ministers-meet-today-confirm-euro-collapse

Greek Judge Writes Off €82,000 Personal Debt To Banks

In a landmark ruling in Hania, Crete, a Greek judge has wiped out the debt owed to banks by a full time employed civil servant.

Article | January 31, 2012 – 1:06pm
According to Greece’s Kathimerini newspaper, the judge at the Justice of the Peace court based his decision on a 2010 law that permits protection for people struggling to meet their financial commitments. To date, this law has only been used to provide relief to the unemployed.

The lady concerned is a full time civil servant with three children to support. She and her family have moved back with her parents. The court decided that she needs €350 per month to live on and that the remainder of her salary should be distributed between the four banks she owes money to.

However, the judge limited these repayments to a four year term, meaning only €30,000 of the €112,000 outstanding will be repaid. The rest will be written off.

This ruling is likely to see thousands of people applying to the courts for similar protection, leaving the banks in Greece acutely aware of the irony in calling a debt an “asset”.

http://www.ukcolumn.org/article/greek-judge-writes-%E2%82%AC82000-personal-debt-banks