Court rules 2012 bond haircut legal and warranted

The Council of State, the country’s highest administrative court, on Friday rejected an appeal by Greek bondholders seeking compensation for having to accept a severe haircut on the value of their investments in the debt restructuring that took place in March 2012.

Judges ruled that the haircut, also known as PSI, was in line with the Constitution and “compelled by reasons of national interest” – or avoiding a sovereign default.

The ruling did acknowledge that bondholders suffered “extremely serious” financial damage. About 7,000 retail bondholders claimed the PSI inflicted a 53.5 percent loss on their capital investment. They were ordered to pay 1,380 euros in legal expenses.