burn, let the fire burn ($670B loan guarantee)

lite1067

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- European finance ministers agreed late Sunday on a package of loan guarantees worth as much as 500 billion euros ($670 billion) designed to keep the Greek debt crisis from spreading to other vulnerable countries, Spanish Finance Minister Elena Salgado announced. The agreement came after a full day of closed-door meetings in Brussels. The finance ministers held a joint press conference shortly after the opening of Asian markets to discuss the program. The package was designed to ease market fears that Greece, Portugal or Spain will have to restructure their debt, a move that would have hit European banks particularly hard. The International Monetary Fund will also contribute to the plan.