Greece needs 60% debt writedown, says Argentine minister

GREECE needs to write down its debt by at least 60% and investors should get securities that offer a share in the country’s future economic growth, according to former Argentine finance minister Guillermo Nielsen.

Investors need to accept bigger losses than those applied after Argentina’s $95 billion default in 2001 and subsequent devaluation, said Nielsen, who oversaw the restructuring of the nation’s debt in 2005.

“At 60%, you begin to have a workable solution,” Nielsen said yesterday. “The experience of Argentina was ignored by European leaders. The initial haircut can be very painful. One cannot imagine that things will improve when you’re in a crisis.”

European Union talks with banks on bondholder losses as part of a second Greek rescue package are deadlocked and were suspended last night, an EU official said.

While policymakers and bankers are converging on a 50% writedown for Greece’s lenders, disagreement is centred on the specifics of the transaction.

Greece has about €360 billion of debt, equivalent to five times the size of Argentina’s default a decade ago.

After shrinking 10.9% in 2002, Argentina’s economy expanded for eight consecutive years, with growth exceeding 8% in every year aside from 2008 and 2009.