Pode
parecer absurdo para os militantes das causas relacionadas aos direitos
humanos, mas na última quinta-feira (18), o jornal “The New York Times”
reportou que os fundos de hedge estão estudando a possibilidade de processar o
governo da Grécia no Tribunal Europeu de Direitos Humanos.
A
alegação se embasaria em suposta violação dos direitos de propriedade,
classificado entre os direitos humanos pela referida corte, resultante de um
possível calote (quase inevitável à essa altura do campeonato) produzido por
uma alteração unilateral dos contratos firmados com os investidores pelo
governo grego, o que lhes imporia uma perda monetária injusta.
Na
disputa que se trava em torno da abrangência e significado dos direitos
humanos, que critérios serão utilizados para decidir esse caso paradigmático?
Vamos
esperar para ver.
Abaixo,
a notícia veiculada pelo jornal.
_____________
Hedge Funds May Sue Greece
if It Tries to Force Losses
By Landon Thomas Jr.
January 18, 2012
LONDON — Hedge funds have been known to use
hardball tactics to make money. Now they have come up with a new one: suing Greece in a human rights court to make good on its bond
payments.
The novel approach would
have the funds arguing in the European Court of Human Rights that Greece had violated bondholder rights,
though that could be a multiyear project with no guarantee of a payoff. And it
would not be likely to produce sympathy for these funds, which many blame
for the lack of progress so far in the negotiations over restructuring Greece’s
debts.
The tactic has emerged in
conversations with lawyers and hedge funds as it became clear that Greece was
considering passing legislation to force all private bondholders to take
losses, while exempting the European Central Bank, which is the largest institutional holder of
Greek bonds with 50 billion euros or so.
Legal experts suggest that
the investors may have a case because if Greece changes the terms of its bonds
so that investors receive less than they are owed, that could be viewed as a
property rights violation — and in Europe, property rights are human rights.
The bond restructuring is a
critical element for Greece to receive its latest bailout from the
international community. As part of that 130 billion euro ($165.5 billion)
rescue, Greece is looking to cut its debt by 100 billion euros through 2014 by
forcing its bankers to accept a 50 percent loss on new bonds that they receive
in a debt exchange.
According to one senior
government official involved in the negotiations, Greece will present an offer
to creditors this week that includes an interest rate or coupon on new bonds
received in exchange for the old bonds that is less than the 4 percent private
creditors have been pushing for — and they will be forced to accept it whether
they like it or not.
“This is crunch time for
us. The time for niceties has expired,” said the person, who was not authorized
to talk publicly. “These guys will have to accept everything.”
The surprise collapse last
week of the talks in Athens raised the prospect that Greece might not receive a
crucial 30 billion euro payment and might miss a make-or-break 14.5 billion
euro bond payment on March 20 — throwing the country into default and
jeopardizing its membership in the euro zone.
Talks between the two sides
picked back up on Wednesday evening in Athens when Charles Dallara of the
Institute of International Finance, who represents private sector bondholders,
met with Prime Minister Lucas Papademos of Greece and his deputies.
While both sides have tried
to adopt a conciliatory tone, the threat of a disorderly default and the spread
of contagion to other vulnerable countries like Portugal remains pronounced.
“In my opinion, it is
unlikely that this is the last restructuring we go through in Europe,” said
Hans Humes, a veteran of numerous debt restructurings and the president and
chief executive of Greylock Capital, the only hedge fund on the private sector
steering committee, which is taking the lead in the Greek negotiations.
“The private sector has
come a long way. We hope that the other parties agree that it is more
constructive to reach a voluntary agreement than the alternative.”
At the root of the dispute
is a growing insistence on the part of Germany and theInternational Monetary Fund that as Greece’s economy continues to
collapse, its debt — now about 140 percent of its gross domestic product —
needs to be reduced as rapidly as possible.
Those two powerful actors —
which control the purse strings for current and future Greek bailouts — have
pressured Greece to adopt a more aggressive tone toward its creditors. As a
result, Greece has demanded that bondholders accept not only a 50 percent loss
on their new bonds but also a lower interest rate on them. That is a tough pill
for investors to swallow, given the already steep losses they face, and one
that would be likely to increase the cumulative haircut to between 60 and 70
percent.
The lower interest rate
would help Greece by reducing the punitive amounts of interest it pays on its
debt, making it easier to cut its budget deficit.
To increase Greece’s leverage, the country’s
negotiators have said they could attach collective action clauses to the
outstanding bonds, a step that would give them the legal right to saddle all
bondholders with a loss. This would particularly be aimed at the so-called free riders —
speculators who have said they will not agree to a haircut and are betting that
when Greece receives its aid bundle in March, their bonds will be repaid in
full.
