Access Investments-European Union- ROMANIA

Germany is thought to be pushing hard for banks to take a 60% write-down on their holdings of Greek government bonds, but France had been insisting the cut shouldn't be much higher than 40%, EU officials have said in recent days. WSJ's Brian Blackstone reports that while European leaders are scrambling to strike a deal to rescue ailing economies, a new business survey paints a pessimistic picture of economic strength. The banks are signaling that a 60% cut wouldn't be deemed voluntary and could trigger a raft of claims for insurance contracts, known as credit-default swaps, to cover bond losses, according to senior euro-zone and International Monetary Fund officials. Late Monday, Charles Dallara, the head of the IIF, warned of "severe contagion" if the euro zone imposes a non-voluntary deal. He said there are "limits" to what can be called a voluntary deal. While euro-zone national governments—and the commission—are saying officially that they want a voluntary deal, one euro-zone official said it is clear that some in Germany would rather impose a "brutal" restructuring and that Greece's private creditors are aware that if they don't compromise, a large Greek haircut will be unilaterally imposed. "The bankers know that if they don't play ball the risk of a hard restructuring is still there," the person said. Failure to pin down specifics on the future of the EFSF at the EU summit could keep pressure on the fund's borrowing costs, which have climbed over the last few weeks amid the uncertainty.