Greece will sell T-bills every month from September instead of just once per quarter, giving it more leeway in managing its short-term debt, a senior official from the country's debt agency (PDMA) told Reuters on Tuesday.
Greece, which is being financed with loans from its eurozone peers and the IMF under a 110 billion euro bailout after its borrowing costs became prohibitive, has been tapping markets for T-bill rollovers only.
"We will start monthly T-bill auctions from September," the official, who did not want to be named, told Reuters. "It's better for cash management and will give us more flexibility."
The change accords with an EU/IMF memorandum that envisaged Greece switching to monthly T-bill issues next month. Three- and six-months bills would be offered, the official said. Monthly T-bill auctions will help smooth maturity profiles as Greece's liquidity position remains tight. Greece faces its next refunding hurdle on October 15 when 2.24 billion euros of one-year and six-month T-bills mature, followed by another 2.4 billion euro chunk of three-month paper on October 22.