Greece plans to repay up to 5 billion euros of bailout loans to eurozone countries early this year as it seeks to return to normality after the debt crisis of the past decade, two government officials told Reuters today (23/04/2024).
The Eurozone and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lent Greece around 280 billion euros during the crisis on the condition that Greece impose tough austerity measures. An official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Reuters that the government plans to repay 2.5 billion to 5 billion euros of debt to eurozone countries “probably in the second half of the year.”
He said this would help the country create room for more bond issues without increasing its debt, while adding liquidity to a shallow Greek bond market. About 70% of the country’s debt is held by its official creditors, the Eurozone and the European Central Bank.
A second official confirmed the amount and timing.
Reuters recalls that Greece recently regained its investment grade, which helped it attract strong demand from foreign investors for its bond issues.
With the scheduled payment this year, Greece will have repaid around €15-17 billion of the first bailout loans. In 2022, the country paid off the IMF two years ahead of schedule, and in 2023 it repaid 5 billion euros in loans to eurozone countries.
Tags: Greece launching early repayment billion euro memorandum loans
