Germany Banking Group Sees High Participation in Greek Debt Swap

Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) -- The BdB Association of German Banks, which represents lenders including Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG, said it expects “numerous” bond holders to participate in the Greek debt swap.

The private creditors are making “an enormous contribution” to Greece and banks will have to first “shoulder” the burden, BdB Managing Director Michael Kemmer said in an e-mailed statement today. Still, many banks have been preparing for the debt restructuring for months and have already booked writedowns on their Greek government holdings, he said.

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