Bloomberg: ESM fund plans 'prudent' investments, may buy bank debt

23 October 2012

Klaus Regling, the head of Europe's permanent rescue fund, said the countries bailed out by the region's governments should be in a position to finance themselves by the end of 2014.

While “there will not be a feeling that the crisis is over” as workers adjust to wage and pension cuts, measures taken by governments may be sufficient by then to help them pass “the ultimate test” and return to the bond market, he said.

Regling, who didn’t mention Spain, said that the ESM can give a precautionary credit line to distressed nations more quickly than the two or three weeks it takes to put together a full sovereign bailout. “If a country asks for a precautionary arrangement, we can act relatively fast”, he said. “Secondary market intervention” could be done in two days, he added.

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