Armstrong: Greece set to restructure debt in 2013
22 Apr 2011 | 08:00
Emma Dunkley
Greece will be forced to restructure its sovereign debt in June 2013 when a spate of longer-term notes will need to be rolled over, according to Patrick Armstrong.
Distinction Asset Management’s managing partner said although Greece can continue to draw on the IMF and ECB’s funding packages, a restructure or default is inevitable in the longer term.
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Greece will muddle through next year, hoping for growth, but it will have to restructure at some point,” he said.
“June 2013 is when a restructuring comes. With the packages Greece has available, it should be able to last until then, but then there is no way out.”
Armstrong bought one-year Greek bonds for the IM Distinction Diversified Real Return fund after Moody’s downgraded the country’s debt last month. The bond was then yielding 14.7%.
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At the time we bought the debt, it yielded 14.7%, then went down to 12%. Today it is yielding 17% so we are losing money on a mark to market basis so far. This will not be a risk-free return - there is going to be some volatility in it, but our base case is there will be no restructure or default in the next 12 months,” he added.
Greece held a 13-month debt auction last week, and two-year bond yields hit 20% in the same week, leaving many investors pricing in a restructuring within months not years.
However, the auction was successful, selling €1.625bn of 13-week treasury bills as investors bid for 3.45 times the amount of securities offered. Nonetheless, Greece still had to pay out, as investors demanded the 13-week yield be 4.1%.
Armstrong said: “The previous auction’s yield was 3.85%, so yields have increased from what it had to borrow at in February for three-month paper, but it is still in a reasonable range.
“I can see why the market would be anxious and I think about 36% of the auction came from foreign investors.”
Armstrong added if Greece were to restructure its debt now, it would set a precedent, paving the way for Ireland and Portugal to do the same.
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Armstrong: Greece set to restructure debt in 2013
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