Eurostat rules described 'Greek-type' swap

The Luxembourg-based European statistics agency Eurostat reiterated today that it was unaware of the Greek Treasury's attempts to reduce the apparent size of its debt by using off-market swaps. But the controversial Greek deal with Goldman Sachs – which closed in 2001 and was first reported by Risk in 2003 – was similar to a blueprint in Eurostat's 2002 accounting guide.

While it is theoretically possible this type of deal could have another purpose – for example, smoothing out an unusual and