Filenews 19 April 2022 - by By Tasos Dasopoulos
End of an era from today for the role of the IMF as a lender of Greece, after the early repayment of the balance of €1.86 billion of the Fund's loans to Greece from the 1st and 2nd Memorandums.
With the third consecutive early repayment since 2019 (€2.7 billion had been repaid early at the end of 2019 and another €3.3 billion in March 2021) Greece is repaying loans totalling around €7.9 billion. euros that normally expired in 2024. The early repayment of the loans leads to savings of €230 million. euro from interest.
At the same time, the IMF will be obliged to carry out an annual assessment of the Greek economy only on the basis of Article IV of its statutes, i.e. the formal assessment for all its member states, but no longer for the biannual ratings imposed by its status as the country's lender.
"A chapter that had been opened in May 2010, with Greece's recourse to the Fund for financial support, is closing," Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said on the occasion of the disbursement of the amount to the IMF.
The minister noted that this is a very positive development, which sends a positive signal to the markets about the country's financial situation, strengthens the profile of public debt and brings savings to the state budget, totalling €230 million, for the benefit of Greek society.
It is recalled that, in addition to the early repayment of IMF loans, Greece has committed to participate ex-post in the fund's new lending programme for countries facing fiscal programmes. The program started in 2012 but Greece abstained due to the economic crisis. Now, Greece will pay its contribution (about 1 billion euros) with a loan to be made by the Bank of Greece.
Source: Capital.gr
