Europe's Central Bank Is Said to Ready Swap of Its Greek Bonds FRANKFURT - The European Central Bank plans to swap its holdings of Greek bonds for new debt as part of a maneuver to avoid having to share in losses absorbed by private investors, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said Friday. But the plan to trade bonds with an estimated face value of €50 billion, or $66 billion, is being carried out over the objections of the German Bundesbank, which fears that giving the E.C.B. preferential treatment could further undermine investor willingness to buy the debt of other hard-pressed countries, such as Portugal. Investors would worry that their losses will be greater if Portugal or another country also restructures its debt, according to the person, who confirmed reports in the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper and other media. The swap, likely to be carried out on Monday, comes as Greece nears agreement with its creditors to reduce its debt load by about €100 billion, resulting in losses of nearly 70 percent to bondholders. The plan is designed to be voluntary, but the Greek parliament is expected to pass a law to prevent a minority of investors from holding up the deal. By issuing new bonds to the E.C.B., Greece would exempt the central bank from that law and from sharing in the losses, something that Mario Draghi, the E.C.B. president, has insisted he would not do. Jens Weidmann, the president of the Bundesbank, has also forcefully ruled out any E.C.B. participation in the debt write down, saying that would amount to financing of governments by the E.C.B. and violate the bank's charter. Mr. Draghi has said the E.C.B. would pass on any future profits from its bond holdings, most of which were purchased at a discount, to countries in the euro zone. But the Bundesbank, the largest and most powerful central bank in the euro zone, opposes passing on any profits before they are realized, which would take place over the next several years. The person with knowledge of the matter, along with another, both stressed that the swap is not designed to be a way for the E.C.B. to speed up contribution of future profits. They did not want to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. The E.C.B. began buying bonds from Greece, Portugal and other troubled countries in May 2010 to help stop a slide in prices. But the intervention, totaling almost €220 billion so far, did not prevent effective interest rates on Greek bonds from soaring, and the E.C.B. has recently dialed back the program. Last week, the E.C.B. spent €59 million in bond markets, a relatively small amount compared to other weeks. The plan for the E.C.B. to swap bonds is likely to come as a disappointment to private holders of Greek bonds, who hoped the E.C.B. would contribute. It also raises the question of whether, without help from the E.C.B., Greece's debt will be reduced to a level that the country, in the midst of wrenching economic and political turmoil, has a realistic chance of repaying.