Bankers hope for Greek debt plan soon Tourists in front of the Acropolis hill as protesters hold banners in front of the Parthenon. Greece wants to conclude negotiations for a second bailout by the end of the summer 'at the latest'. EUROPEAN bankers hope to come up with the principles of a plan for Greece's debt crisis by July 3, but they may not have agreed on the details by then, according to people familiar with the matter. Bankers gathered in Rome last night to discuss plans for Greece, the day after a French proposal was disclosed. The French plan calls for private creditors to halve their exposure to Greece by rolling over about half the Greek government bonds they hold. The French proposal came as a response to government demands that private creditors help fix Greece's debt problems. The bankers are hoping to have a basic plan ready for July 3, when European finance ministers hold a regular meeting. European Central Bank officials are receptive to a Greek debt rollover plan advanced by France, assuming private-sector participation is voluntary, according to people familiar with the matter. However, this French plan won't necessarily be taken up, as other countries have yet to present their own proposals. The talks last night concerned things like the technicalities of possible plans, according to people familiar with the situation. Governments and bankers are aiming to organise an orderly intervention of private creditors in the resolution of Greece's debt crisis. Ideally, this would appease opposition -- especially in Germany -- to another publicly-funded bailout of Greece, while at the same time ratings agencies would not judge it a default on the part of Greece. But that's a difficult task because the agencies have warned that any action that harms creditors -- even if it's dubbed "voluntary" -- would likely be classified as a default. Last night's meeting in Rome was held by the Institute of International Finance, a Washington-based group of more than 400 banks and financial institutions. Participants included representatives of Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank of Germany, as well as French banks Societe Generale, BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole. German banks hold more Greek sovereign debt than banks from any country outside Greece, but the French have more overall exposure to Greek debt because two of them own Greek banks. Also represented at the IIF meeting were HSBC Holdings, JP Morgan, Barclays and Intesa Sanpaolo. Under the French plan, financial institutions would effectively reduce their exposure but tie their hands to Greece for a long period by committing to buy up to 30-year bonds, these people said. The plan also calls for setting up a special fund into which private creditors would plow about 20 per cent of cash collected when Greek government bonds mature. The special fund would act like an insurance policy should Greece default on some of the 30-year bonds, they said. ‪ However, proposals from other countries were also discussed in Rome, and the French plan won't necessarily be the one eventually taken up, according to the person familiar with the matter. Additional reporting: Matthew Karnitschnig and Stephen Fidler