Greece is technically no longer in default to the International Monetary Fund, following a€2 billion payment, according to an official statement by the Washington DC-0based fund.
“I can confirm that Greece today repaid the totality of its arrears to the IMF, equivalent to €2.0 billion, said Gerry Rice, communications director of the IMF in an official statement.
“Greece is therefore no longer in arrears to the IMF,” Rice added.
Greek officials confirmed on Monday that they had begun paying back their IMF debts, not long after the emergency bridging loan arrived in the Greek government’s bank account from the European Central Bank.
The Guardian called it “the Greek money merry-go-round” as Athens received the €7.2 billion loan from the EU and the ECB and immediately spent almost all of it on repaying debts– plus interest.
The EU agreed the emergency “bridge loan” on Friday to enable Athens to meet urgent debt repayments and clear arrears, both necessary hurdles if the Greek government is to get a three-year bailout worth up to €86 billion.
The €7.2 billion was transferred to Athens around noon local time on Monday and was immediately used to repay Greece’s international creditors— including money right back to the institutions that offered the bridge loan for repayment of past debts.
The Greek government owes €4.2 billion to the European Central Bank – a €3.5 billion loan plus €700 million in interest.