Merkel rules out 'haircut' on European loans to Greece

SARAJEVO (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated during a visit to the Bosnian capital on Thursday that a so-called "haircut" on Europe's loans to Greece was out of the question.

"In 2012 we dealt with the issue of debt sustainability. We stretched out the maturities, we pushed back the repayment requirement for EFSF loans out to 2020. So we are not dealing with debt sustainability for the first time," Merkel said when asked about differences with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a debt writedown for Greece.

"I have said that a classic haircut is out of the question for me and that hasn't changed between yesterday and today."

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke; Writing by Noah Barkin and Caroline Copley)

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