12 Feb 2015
No deal on Greece – BTMU
FXStreet (Barcelona) - Derek Halpenny, European Head of GMR at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, comments that yesterday’s eurogroup meeting was only a starting point of a period negotiations which might continue till a deal to extend Greece’s bailout program is made.
Key Quotes
“Finance Minister Varoufakis stated that there was now a greater understanding of each other’s positions while eurogroup Chairman, Jeroen Dijsselbloem stated that "we covered a lot of ground" but that no agreement was reached on a way forward.”
“Yesterday was just the starting point of a period of negotiations that will no doubt go down to the wire before some deal to at least extend the bailout program is agreed.”
“We maintain that there is far too much to be lost on both sides for these talks to fail completely.”
“The economics of the current bailout program at least offer scope for adjustments that alleviates the scale of austerity on Greece without adjusting the key overall debt levels. That’s where the scope for a deal lies.”
“We would certainly not be fooled by the lack of contagion or further euro fallout at this stage.”
“Rescue funds (ESM), OMT and ECB QE are all playing a role in keeping the euro-zone financial markets stable – but that does not mean a Grexit is no big deal.”
“We maintain that the departure of Greece from the single currency would be a disaster and the setting of a template for a country to depart would probably mark the beginning of the end of the single currency.”
“So the stakes are extraordinarily high despite the appearance of relative financial market calm.”
Key Quotes
“Finance Minister Varoufakis stated that there was now a greater understanding of each other’s positions while eurogroup Chairman, Jeroen Dijsselbloem stated that "we covered a lot of ground" but that no agreement was reached on a way forward.”
“Yesterday was just the starting point of a period of negotiations that will no doubt go down to the wire before some deal to at least extend the bailout program is agreed.”
“We maintain that there is far too much to be lost on both sides for these talks to fail completely.”
“The economics of the current bailout program at least offer scope for adjustments that alleviates the scale of austerity on Greece without adjusting the key overall debt levels. That’s where the scope for a deal lies.”
“We would certainly not be fooled by the lack of contagion or further euro fallout at this stage.”
“Rescue funds (ESM), OMT and ECB QE are all playing a role in keeping the euro-zone financial markets stable – but that does not mean a Grexit is no big deal.”
“We maintain that the departure of Greece from the single currency would be a disaster and the setting of a template for a country to depart would probably mark the beginning of the end of the single currency.”
“So the stakes are extraordinarily high despite the appearance of relative financial market calm.”