In historic first, Greek debt carries negative interest rate

More than a year after Greece exited its bailout programs, investors - in a historic first - have bought its short-term debt at a loss.

The country's debt management agency said Wednesday it raised 487.5 million euros ($535 million) selling 13-week treasury bills, for which the yield was -0.02 percent.

That means investors will get back slightly less than they paid, following a trend in other European countries.

Greece's last 13-week treasury bill sale, in August, carried a yield of 0.095 percent.

At the start of its financial crisis, in 2010, Greece was locked out of bond markets as investors feared they wouldn't get their money back. Bondholders were in fact later forced to accept large losses on their investments.

From then till August 2018 Greece survived on international bailouts.

[AP]