ECB Weighs Appropriation of Greek Bond Profit, Handelsblatt Says

The European Central Bank may introduce an appropriation for profit it makes from Greek bond purchases, Antonio Sainz de Vicuna, director general of legal services, told Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper in an interview.

“There is the option to mark such profits with an appropriation, according to which shareholders of national central banks use the profits, for example, via the EFSF for Greece’s debt consolidation,” Sainz de Vicuna was quoted as saying. “That’s a political decision but the Eurosystem might have to agree so ensure the procedure is in line with the law.”

Profit will be distributed once the bonds, which have maturities of as long as 15 years, have been redeemed, said Sainz de Vicuna, who is the Spanish candidate to succeed Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo on the ECB’s Executive Board.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jana Randow in Frankfurt at jrandow@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Craig Stirling at cstirling1@bloomberg.net