The first quarter of 2012 witnessed several comforting developments in Europe. Greece fulfilled the pre-condition for securing its second bailout by convincing its private creditors to accept a 53.5% write-off on its debt. The deal eased concerns about a disorderly default by Greece on its sovereign debt. Following up on the liquidity-infusing program it introduced late last year, the European Central Bank (ECB) carried out another round of its Long-Term Refinancing Operation (LTRO), this time handing out to about 800 banks a total of €529.5 billion in 3-year loans at a very low interest rate of 1%.
