Bundesbank: Greece will need haircut, but later

[November 16, 2012]  BERLIN (AP) -- The head of Germany's central bank says Greece will eventually need another debt write-off -- but it can't be offered one now and must first work though a long list of reforms.

Jens Weidmann told a gathering of business leaders in Berlin on Friday that Greece's finances are an exception within the 17-nation eurozone because its "debt is not sustainable."

He said Greece's government must implement further reforms and get its budget under control. But he notes that granting the country more debt relief -- a so-called haircut -- now would reduce pressure on Athens and weaken its ambition to make the necessary changes.

Weidmann said "a debt haircut does not solve Greece's problems." But he added: "It will be necessary at the end to regain access to capital markets."

[Associated Press]

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