Debt restructuring

Greece expects to make a clean break with official lenders when its international bailout expires in August and has no reason to seek a precautionary credit line, its finance minister said in an interview.

Greece's exchange of sovereign bonds held by private sector creditors is another step toward the resumption of regular bond issuance, Fitch Ratings said on Monday.

Greece has successfully completed a 30 billion euro ($35.55 billion) voluntary bond swap aimed at boosting the liquidity of thinly traded government paper issued after its debt restructuring, preliminary results showed on Wednesday.

The process of swapping 20 bonds stemming from the Greek debt restructuring of 2012, or private sector involvement (PSI), began on Wednesday with the issue of new securities.

Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and House speaker Nikos Voutsis on Tuesday responded to claims made the previous day by the head of Parliament's State Budget Office (PBO) warning that Greece faces economic collapse unless international creditors grant it significant debt relief.

Greece cannot afford any more delays in the completion of the third review of its third bailout by foreign creditors if it is to access international markets and begin debt relief discussions, according to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who convened a cabinet meeting on the subject on Friday. 

If Greece wants to stand on its feet and stop relying on bailout funds, it will have to gain market access while carrying out the reforms and bearing the fiscal straitjacket of the third economic program.

The Turkish government has collected almost 23 billion Turkish Liras ($6.5 billion) through its latest debt and tax restructuring plan, Finance Minister Naci Ağbal told state-run Anadolu Agency on June 2. 

The Turkish government has collected 21 billion Turkish Liras ($5.9 billion) in line with the latest debt and tax restructuring plan, a top official has said, adding that a fresh system would slash the need for another restructuring plan. 

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble is eyeing a compromise with the International Monetary Fund over Greek debt relief ahead of federal elections in September, Die Welt newspaper reported over the weekend.

According to the report, Schaeuble has asked ministry officials to outline a possible agreement with the Washington-based Fund on Greek debt restructuring.