Lazard hired to take rating over junk level

French company Lazard will be the new consultant of the Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA), replacing Rothschild, with the aim of bringing Greek bonds back to investment grade within the next couple of years.

This decision was reached on Wednesday by the government's Economic Policy Council on the recommendation of the PDMA and an opinion by the State Legal Council.

This will not be the first time that Lazard has provided its services to Greece, as it was also commissioned by George Papandreou's government and the SYRIZA-led administration with Yanis Varoufakis at the helm of the Finance Ministry. After all, Lazard and Rothschild are the two leading firms in their sector.

A Finance Ministry source said the payment to the French company will be at the same level as that to Rothschild, which came to about 10 million euros over two-and-a-half years.

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