Greek Bailout Seen November 12, if Athens Complies

Euro zone finance ministers expect a deal on restarting emergency lending to Greece on November 12 if Athens agrees to necessary reforms and takes action on them before then, the head of the ministers said on Wednesday.

In a statement issued after a teleconference of the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers, the group's president, Jean-Claude Juncker, called on Greece to swiftly finalize talks with international lenders on the reforms.

"The Eurogroup expects to further discuss the Greek adjustment program at its next regular meeting on November 12 on the basis of the relevant program documentation and seek to conclude on the program, subject to the completion of prior actions by the Greek authorities and of national procedures in member states, in line with the established practice," he said.

The relevant program documentation includes a staff-level agreement between Greece and the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank on the necessary reforms intended to, in time, make Greek debt sustainable. This staff-level agreement is not yet ready.

The documentation also includes the key report on Greek debt sustainability by the three institutions, in which they are to explore ways to bring the debt to GDP ratio below 120 percent in 2020, from a forecast 190 percent next year in the Greek 2013 budget.