Athens wants to repay part of its debts to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) early. The Greek Minister of Finance Christos Staikouras signed on Monday a request to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the Eurogroup. "Our country gains credibility and confidence," said Staikouras.
The process could take several weeks, because the parliaments of some euro countries - including the Bundestag - must approve the action, it was said from circles of the Ministry of Finance in Athens.
It is about IMF loans in the amount of 2.9 billion euros. The return is 4.91 percent. Athens hopes to save about 70 million euros in interest costs with the early amortization, Staikouras continued.
The debt of Greece without the planned early repayment at the IMF amount to 8.8 billion euros, according to the Ministry of Finance. The IMF has participated in the Greek rescue program since 2010 with almost 32 billion euros. The Greeks have already repaid most of it.
Greece's last program of austerity and reform ended in August 2018. Since then, Athens has been increasingly on its own and can lend itself money on the capital market. The yields on ten-year Greek government bonds are currently 1.5 percent. At the height of the severe financial crisis in 2012, these returns were more than 35 percent. The amount of the return does not just reflect the default risk of the bonds. It also burdens the financing costs of a state, which then has to spend all the more money on debt service.
