EU court dismisses claims against ECB over Greek debt

LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - An EU court on Wednesday dismissed claims by more than 200 Italian investors against the European Central Bank over Greek debt restructuring in 2012, saying their losses were part of normal financial market risk.

More than 200 Italian investors were seeking to sue the European Central Bank for damages of more than 12 million euros ($13.5 million).

They argued that the ECB negotiated a secret swap agreement with Greece early in 2012, receiving new better-structured bonds and so granting itself preferred creditor status to the detriment of others.

Other Greek bond holders received new securities with a substantially lower nominal value and a longer maturity period.

The General Court of the European Union, the second highest EU court, said in its ruling that the ECB had exclusively acted with the objective of stabilizing markets.

(Reporting by Michele Sinner, writing by Philip Blenkinsop, editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek)

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