It is time to recognise that Greece is not just suffering from a liquidity crisis; it is facing an insolvency crisis too. Rating agencies have started to downgrade its public debt to junk level, while spreads on Greek sovereign bonds last week spiked to new highs. The €110bn bail-out agreed by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund in May only delays the inevitable default and risks making it disorderly when it comes. Instead, an orderly restructuring of Greece's public debt is needed now.
現在我們應該意識到,希臘不僅遭遇了一場流動性危機;還面臨著一場償付危機。評級機構已開始將該國的公共債務調降至垃圾級,希臘主權債券利差上週飆升至新高。歐盟(EU)和國際貨幣基金組織(IMF)5月批准的1100億歐元紓困計劃,只是讓不可避免的違約向後延了延期,並可能在發生違約時讓局面變得混亂無序。而我們現在需要的是對希臘的公共債務進行有序重組。