Trichet bonds will be long-duration (30-year) new bonds issued by countries in the EU featuring a 30-year zero-coupon bond issued by the ECB, to be held as collateral for the new sovereign bonds, to insure at least the full payment of principal at maturity. The new bonds are to be issued at market interest rates, but will be offered for old debt at market value (now about 65- 70% of face value). Present debt holders will face a significant haircut (of the order of 30-35% for Greece and Ireland) because new bonds will be sold/exchanged at present market prices. Because the bond exchange will occur at.
