Main opposition Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) Alexis Tsipras’ commitment to pay bonds that expire in March has prompted the reaction of the Greek Finance Ministry that claims that this would be impossible. A statement by the Finance Ministry lists two reasons why Mr. Tsipras will be unable to meet his pledge:

a) The Greek Public sector, in collaboration with its creditors, had the possibility to issue Treasury bills worth 15 billion euros at the most that has already been covered in December.The Finance Ministry points to the increased financing needs of the Public Sector in March. “The Greek public sector could try to use the same lending tools as in the past, specifically through the issuing of T-bills,” says the statement, however this time, this would not be able to used.

b) Investors interested in buying the T-bills would need to be found. The current uncertainty has made investors wary of Greek T-bills. According to the Finance Ministry, Greek banks would need to have the required cash flow to buy the T-bills. The announcement of the European Central Bank (ECB) stated last week that funding to Greek banks would be cut if Greece was not following the program of measures required. This means, that without the cash flow, Greek banks would not be able to provide the required funds after February 28.