Crisis countries in the euro area benefited from official loans with much longer maturities and lower costs relative to IMF standards. Studying the differences across the lending terms of the euro area official loans can produce novel fundamental insights on the mechanisms that endogenously link the terms of official lending with debt sustainability and market access. In this column, we present and discuss the results of a quantitative model of official assistance calibrated to Portugal. Our analysis supports the view that lengthening loan maturities and managing debt repayment flows has substantial effects on ... (full story)