Schaeuble Backs Greek Bond Buyback Amid Euro Bloc Differences

Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Germany favors allowing Greece to buy back as much as 10 billion euros ($12.8 billion) of its bonds after euro finance ministers early today failed to agree a deal on Greek debt.

While making “good progress” in the talks in Brussels, euro area leaders differed over how to plug a 14 billion-euro gap in a Greek debt-reduction package, Schaeuble told reporters in Berlin. Some states favor cutting interest on loans from Greece’s first aid package while Germany prefers a buyback of Greek bonds, Schaeuble said.