Greek banks want more time to assess bond-swap losses

On March 12, Greece swapped a nominal amount of 177 billion euros ($233.54 billion) of government paper issued under domestic law for new securities as part of a restructuring to reduce its debt mountain.

The swap inflicted real losses of about 74% on private bondholders. Greek banks, holders of an estimated 45 billion euros of bonds, will reflect that hit on their results.

Officials at the bank association and the regulator said on Friday that banks had asked for another 30 days to assess the impact of the debt exchange, known as private sector involvement (PSI). The final decision rests with the government.

"A request was made to the capital market commission to extend the results announcement deadline by one month," an official at the securities watchdog told Reuters.

The securities regulator is not opposed to granting an extension, the official said. "When asked by the government we will state our view," said the official, who did not want to be named.

Greek central bank chief George Provopoulos will meet new Finance Minister Filippos Sachinidis later on Friday and is expected to discuss the issue.

Bond swap losses, coupled with rising loan impairments resulting from a deep recession, will take a toll on banks' equity capital and lenders will need to recapitalise to restore their capital adequacy ratios.

Greece's central bank, which is currently assessing the banks' capital needs and will also look into the viability of their business plans, will require lenders to reach a Core Tier 1 ratio of 9 percent by the end of September.