ECB resigns from its profits on Greek bonds

Luc Cohen, a member of the board of directors of the ECB, announced the Bank’s decision to distribute any profits that derive from the Greek bonds it holds to member-states of the Eurozone.

The member-states could later use these profits to chip in for the rescue of Greece.

"We decided we do not want to profit from our dealings with Greece, and when the profit of previous years is distributed, each government will decide what share it will give to Greece. It is up to the governments to decide what to do," he said in a presentation of the annual report of the central bank of Belgium.

According to Eurozone sources, the ECB has Greek bonds with a nominal value of approximately 50 billion euros, which were acquired in May 2010 at the start of the controversial program for the purchase of government bonds.

Their cost price stood at 40 billion euros, which means that the ECB has recorded account profits of 10-15 billion.