NEW YORK, N.Y. -- On May 18, 2010, the economically embattled country of Greece received 14.5 billion euros ($17.9 billion USD) in aid. Since that time, finance ministers across Western Europe, whose nations were responsible for taking steps to alleviate the distressed assets of several struggling countries, have watched the debt burden swell with no signs of abating. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Wednesday that Europe should prepare to restructure Greece’s debt if the forthcoming analysis from the European Central Bank and European Commission deems it unsustainable. However, Greek officials on Monday again denied that debt rescheduling was imminent, despite the insistence from financial markets that the country will need to renegotiate the terms of its public debt.

In a surprising announcement this morning, Bank of Greece Governor George Provopoulos said that his country had received another loan from what Greek bankers presumed to be the European Union.