European finance ministers put the finishing touches on a rescue fund being backed by 440 billion euros ($526 billion) in national guarantees, seeking to halt the spread of Greece’s debt crisis.
The European Financial Stability Facility would sell bonds backed by the guarantees and use the money it raises to make loans to euro-area nations in need, the finance ministers decided today in Luxembourg. The new mechanism would sell debt for lending only after an aid request is made by a country.
The ministers aim for ratings companies to assign a AAA rating to the facility, whose bonds would be eligible for European Central Bank refinancing operations. The entity will be based in Luxembourg.
“We’ve sent a clear signal of stability,” Austrian Finance Minister Josef Proell told reporters at the Luxembourg meeting. “We’ve opened the rescue umbrella and I’m convinced it’s working.”