Feb. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Euro-area governments are considering a reduction of interest rates on bilateral loans to Greece, supplementing the writedowns banks have agreed to take on the country’s debt, German newspaper Die Welt reported, citing unidentified people with knowledge of the negotiations.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is “skeptical” of such a move, the newspaper said.

--Editor: James Hertling

To contact the reporter on this story: Jana Randow in Frankfurt at jrandow@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Craig Stirling at cstirling1@bloomberg.net