“The extraordinarily large sale was held ahead of the redemption of a €3.2bn bond held by the ECB which expires on August 20. it will also help the country pay salaries and pensions while it awaits the next instalment of its EU-IMF bailout package.  Greece has been shut out of the long-term debt markets since 2010 and has regularly issued short-term debt, but previous placements had not been as high as Tuesday’s.  In need of cash to pay salaries and pensions, the government hopes that a solution can be found at the European level regarding the redemption of the ECB bond.”