Greece files with U.S. regulator for ‘diaspora’ bonds

Greece has filed a shelf registration with securities regulators in the United States to be able to sell so-called diaspora bonds to retail investors, the head of the country's debt agency said.
Diaspora bonds, aimed at Greeks abroad, are part of plans by the debt-ridden country to raise funds before it attempts to return to international bond markets.
"We filed with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) last night, the ceiling for the programme is $3.0 bln (2.15 bln euros) and we are awaiting approval," Petros Christodoulou, head of the debt management agency (PDMA), told Reuters.
He said there are similar plans to tap Greeks in Australia but there has been no such filing yet.
Approval by the SEC means Greece will be in a position to market these bonds whenever authorities decide. A senior government official said the exact timing or the maturities of the bonds had not been decided.
The overborrowed euro zone member is keen to return to markets after its fiscal derailment in 2009 sparked a debt crisis that drove its borrowing costs to prohibitive levels and prompted a 110 bln euro ($140 bln) bailout from the IMF and its euro zone peers.
The government wants to return to markets sometime in 2011 but with yield spreads on Greek government paper back near levels reached at the peak of the crisis it looks unlikely.
On Wednesday the spread of 10-year Greek bonds over German bunds was at 972 basis points, hit by a slashing of its credit rating this week by Moody's which cited a growing risk of a debt default.
The plan to tap Greeks abroad was unveiled by Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou last year.
Athens has been funding itself over short durations with issues of six- and three-month T-bills. So far it has been raising money at rates below the 5.2% it pays on its bailout loans.