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ECB Special Lender Status Threatens Backlash
The European Central Bank’s willingness to ride roughshod over bondholder rights risks pushing up borrowing costs for indebted governments by making investors less willing to lend. The ECB swapped about 50 billion euros ($67 billion) of Greek bonds for new securities, identical to the old ones in every way save for identification numbers. The switch makes the ECB senior to other investors, exempting it from the largest sovereign restructuring in history as Greece rewrites the terms of its notes to ensure lenders forgive 53.5 percent of the debt. “Bondholders are effectively being subordinated every time the ECB ... (full story)