ATHENS -(Dow Jones)- A multi-billion euro aid and reform plan for Greece should soothe investors' concerns about the country's finances, a senior official from the International Monetary Fund said Sunday.
"The markets will see this as a very strong, very credible, and very well supported package and I think that markets will react positively," IMF official Poul Thomsen told reporters at a briefing here.
He added that the program was designed to "shock and awe" the market participants, with steep deficit cuts in the first year that would help the cash-strapped Greek government to more easily service a rising debt burden, seen peaking at close to 150% of gross domestic product by 2014.
His remarks come hours after the Greek government agreed to a joint European Union-IMF loan program that would provide an unprecedented level of assistance to the country, while also demanding tough austerity measures over the next four years.
Under the terms of the deal, Greece will cut its budget deficit from a record 13.6% of GDP last year, to 8.1% this year, and below an EU ceiling of 3% by the end of 2014--translating into EUR30 billion in combined spending cuts and higher taxes.
"The market will see that even in the coming year the debt goes up, but the primary deficit improves fast and that is what determines the debt sustainability," said Thomsen, who is the deputy head of the IMF's European division.
The primary deficit is the gap between revenues and expenditures, before interest payments on outstanding debts are made.
He added that the issue of restructuring Greece's debt--a lingering worry in financial markets--has "never been discussed."
"Debt restructuring has not been on the table, it will not be on the table," he said.
In exchange for its austerity measures, the EU/IMF package sees some EUR120 billion in loans to Greece over the next three to four years.
Casting the decision in very stark terms, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou earlier Sunday announced Greece's acceptance of the EU/IMF terms as necessary to save the country from bankruptcy.
He said that the package would be critical to reforming Greece's economy and public sector, and vowed to protect the country's low income earners from the effects of the austerity measures and a deepening recession.
Greece's economy shrank last year by 2%, marking its first recession in 16 years. For this year, the economy is expected to contract by 4%, and by roughly another 2% next year. But the measures have already touched off opposition from Greece powerful unions, which have threatened a storm of protest. At the same time, Greece's main opposition party has also attacked the program and criticized the government's handling of the crisis.
Speaking at the briefing, Thomsen said that the success of the program will depend on public and political acceptance across Greek society.
"This is going to be tough, but it's going to happen," Thomsen said. "But it's also going to assume an unprecedented cohesiveness of Greek society. This is a defining moment for Greece and we hope that in the end the political elite sees that and gets behind it."
In an effort to gain public support, Greece's government will seek to negotiate a social pact with unions and employers groups for the duration of the program. Prime Minister George Papandreou is also due to meet with the heads of opposition political parties sometime this week.
Speaking at the same briefing, European Commission Deputy Director General for economic affairs Servaas Deroose stressed that the program was uniquely tailored for Greece.
Amid market fears that Greece's debt crisis could spread to other, weaker euro-zone countries like Portugal and Spain, Deroose stressed that Greece's problems were likewise unique.
"Every country in Europe is different and they are quite different," he said. "And the program we have here is a blueprint for Greece, it is not a blueprint for other countries."
After months of turmoil, Greece's debt crisis has led to a sharp increase in the country's borrowing costs, hammered the Athens stock market, and recently touched off fears about the health of Greece's financial system.
As part of the aid package, Greece will set up a special bank stabilization fund to boost the capital adequacy of Greek banks should it become necessary. The fund would be administered by the Bank of Greece, the central bank, but with the participation of IMF observers.
"The objective of the fund will be to ensure that Greek banks are well capitalized at all times," said Deroose. "The fund will inject capital in the bank if its capital adequacy ratio falls below a certain level, and existing shareholders cannot raise capital from the markets."
Greece's banks are among the best capitalized in Europe, but have been hit by slower economic growth, rising non-performing loans, and steep losses in their holdings of Greek government bonds.