The recent political and financial developments have put a major strain on Greek government and corporate bonds alike, as the fear of a “Grexit” escalates.
On Friday the yield of the ten-year bond closed at 12.85%, while the yield difference (“spread”) from the German bond, which is used a benchmark, came to 1,278 base points. The average yield was 9.3% in February and 11.59% in March.
According to historic records which have been kept since 1998, the yield of the ten-year bond reached its highest in March 2012 when it traded for 46.60% and its lowest in June 2005 when it traded for 3.21%.
The rise in yields of the Greek government bonds has also affected the cost of lending of listed companies, as evident by OTE’s bonds. The telecommunications firm’s three-year bond closed at 99.95 on Friday, when on the 20th of January – before the elections – it was over 109 points.
