More debt relief won't change much for Greece, says Bundesbank chief

Additional debt relief will not help pull Greece out its current crisis, the head of the German central bank or Bundesbank, Jens Weidmann, said on Thursday.

Because the average maturity of Greeces debt ?is quite long and the average interest rate quite low -- as is the current annual level of debt servicing -- further debt relief would not really change Greece's liquidity situation by much,? Weidmann told a banking congress in London.

A copy of his speech was made available by the Bundesbank in Frankfurt.

Furthermore, ?any further relaxation of the agreed targets would be counter-productive to efforts to regain investors? confidence in Greece's debt sustainability. And that would come at the expense of tax-payers in other euro-area countries,? Weidmann warned.

?Additionally, it would also be to the detriment of other euro-area countries? governments: it would be much harder for them to justify the rocky path of economic reform,? the Bundesbank chief said.

The new government in Greece, headed by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, is trying to persuade other European Union leaders to back an austerity-lite replacement plan for the country?s 240-billion-euro ($270-billion) EU-IMF bailout, which expires at the end of February.

Athens has drawn up a 10-point proposal under which Greece would stick to 70 percent of its bailout reform commitments but overhaul the remaining 30 percent. Greece also wants a debt swap that will free up funds for economic growth.

Weidmann, who as head of Germany?s central bank sits on the European Central Bank?s policy-setting governing council, said he believed it was ?in Greeces own interest to do what is necessary to tackle the structural and fiscal problems it is facing.?

Greece would ...