American Banks helped the Greeks swindle the EU

[bobalot]

BTW, Not all the countries in the EU want such harsh rules enforced on Greece. Italy, Spain and Portugal are broadly supportive of a bailout.

Of course they are, afterall, they're all doing the same thing and a bailout for Greece sets a precedent for bailing them out when they start going under.

That's bull (and Bobalot, please provide a link to the Spanish or Portuguese government supporting a bailout for Greece, I haven't read anything about it and I strongly believe I read more Portuguese news than you).

Please don't mix Portugal and Spain with Italy and Greece. The countries may show some resemblance looking from afar, but it stops there. The whole mentality is widely, widely different. The Portuguese and Spanish are fucking serious, specially when compared to the other two. Hell, the expression "Poor but honest" is part of the Portuguese identity. Our institutions (such as the National statistics bureau and national treasury) are independent, trusted within the countries and abroad and functional/powerful. Italy and Greece are fucking jokes in comparison, and they admit it readily when talking with us. In that regard, they see us in the same level as the northern countries.

Bottom line is, the existing economic indicators for Portugal/Spain are better than for Greece, and I believe the official data and documentation of those countries, and the capability of the governments to keep the countries respectable. In Italy and Greece "reliable statistics" is only said in the context of a practical joke and "respect" is something you imperatively have to show your family and local mafia and that's pretty much it.

I apologise and withdraw my statement. I assumed that because the countries were in similar situations, they would in turn support a bailout.

[J]

Well well well, the fun never stops. The latest in the ongoing drama was dug up by market ticker blog. This is an excerpt from page 26 of AIG's latest annual report, which can be found here

Regulatory Capital Credit Default Swap Portfolio

A deterioration in the credit markets may cause AIG to recognize unrealized market valuation losses in AIGFP's regulatory capital super senior credit default swap portfolio in future periods which could have a material adverse effect on AIG's consolidated financial condition or consolidated results of operations. Moreover, depending on how the extension of the Basel I capital floors is implemented, the period of time that AIGFP remains at risk for such deterioration could be significantly longer than anticipated by AIGFP.

A total of $150.0 billion in net notional amount of the super senior credit default swap (CDS) portfolio of AIGFP as of December 31, 2009, represented derivatives written for financial institutions, principally in Europe, which AIG understands to have been originally written primarily for the purpose of providing regulatory capital relief rather than for arbitrage purposes. The net fair value of the net derivative asset for these CDS transactions was $116 million at December 31, 2009.

There's a whole lot of cheating going on in the EU, $150 billion in derivatives & swaps written specifically to circumvent their banking regulations, and that's from AIG alone. I can't wait to see what turns up in the next few weeks & months.

[[R_H]]

Spiegel

Greek Corruption Booming, Says Transparency International

Corruption is widely regarded as one of the triggers of the Greek debt crisis threatening the euro common currency. A new study by Transparency International suggests that corruption is part of everyday life in Greece, and claims private households paid more than 780 million euros in bribes in 2009.

The Greeks paid an average of €1,355 ($1,830) in bribes last year for public services such as speeding up the issue of driver's licenses and construction permits, getting admitted to public hospitals or manipulating tax returns, according to a new study by Transparency International, the Berlin-based global corruption watchdog.

In 2008, average bribes were even higher, at €1,374, the study said, according to a report in the German daily Die Welt on Tuesday.

Bribes paid for private sector services such as lawyers, doctors or banks were even higher, rising to €1,671 on average in 2009 from €1,575 in 2008, the study said. It is based on a survey by polling institute Public Issue among 6,122 Greek adults, of whom 13.4 percent stated that they had been asked to pay bribes.

According to Die Welt, Transparency International calculated that Greek households paid a total of €787 million in bribes in 2009 -- €462 million to civil servants and €325 million in the private sector. The total sum is up 23 percent from 2007, when TI estimated that bribes totalling €639 million were paid.

Government, Corporate Corruption Not Measured

The figures show only a small part of the corruption in Greece because many people did not admit to paying bribes, the study said. "We only measure so-called small-scale corruption, meaning bribes paid by private individuals to civil servants and in the private sector," the head of Transparency International Greece, Konstantin Bakouris, told Die Welt.

He added that TI did not record the corruption going on at the government and corporate level, even though it was widespread.

The Greek budget deficit in 2009 amounted to 12.7 percent of GDP, more than four times the EU limit. Market worries that the Greek government might default on its debt have pushed up the cost of Greek borrowing and triggered a 10 percent depreciation of the euro against the dollar since the end of 2009. There are fears that a Greek default could lead to a breakup of the 11-year-old monetary union.

The Greek government has pledged to hike taxes and slash public spending to bring the deficit back down. German accusations of corruption, false public accounting and extravagance have led to a war of words between Greece and Germany in recent weeks.

Politicians in Germany are reluctant to rescue Greece, partly because such a move would be deeply unpopular after Germans have undergone reforms in recent years to keep their budget deficit under control. Bild, the mass circulation German daily, reflected the public mood on Tuesday with a banner headline on its front page asking: "Are The Greeks Breaking the Euro?"

That's insane. Why didn't the EU crack down on Greece earlier?

[Thanas]

Because the Greeks are notoriously bitchy about even the appearance of anybody telling them what to do. And the problem with Germany and Greece is that Greece quite cleverly played the Nazi Victim Card for the last few years so that prevented any strong German crackdown on Greece.

[Narkis]

We're still playing the Nazi Victim Card, though it's not as successful lately. I can't believe how many times I've heard in the news how the Germans have no right to tell us what to do, that their memory is very short if they've already forgotten what they did 60 years ago, and that we really should sue them for war reparations. I'm sick of it. And the outrage reached unreal levels after that German magazine dared insult our glorious ancestors (Here) While many locals say the exact same thing without this kind of response.

As for bitchiness, there are people, perhaps the majority, that curse the Greek state for its many, many failings, praise the Europeans for their efficiency and their great stats, and threaten with RIGHTEOUS VENGEANCE if those damned Eurobureacrats even look at us funny. And all of them at once!

We're a nation of the insane. I've stopped trying to make sense of it. And I can't wait to get the hell out of here.