IMF says still engaged with Greece, no decision yet on bailout role

Sun Oct 9, 2016 | 12:21pm EDT

Reuters

The International Monetary Fund said on Sunday it is still fully engaged in talks to join the Greek bailout program and has not yet decided on what role it will take.

The IMF's comment came after two sources with direct knowledge of the Greek bailout talks told Reuters on Saturday that negotiations for the fund to commit financial resources to the program are making little headway and the IMF likely would accept a special advisory status with limited powers.

"We remain fully engaged, with the aim of reaching agreement on a program that the fund can support with a new arrangement, as requested by the authorities," IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said in an emailed statement on Sunday. "In this regard a mission team will visit Athens soon."

Greece’s Inconclusive Debt Deal

Tuesday’s accord, rather being than a decisive break in Athens’ crisis, puts off thorny political decisions
The Wall Street Journal

By SIMON NIXON
May 25, 2016 5:12 p.m. ET
1 COMMENTS
Greece has a new debt deal—but then it was always going to get a new debt deal.

Time and again, the eurozone has demonstrated that it is bound together by impressive reservoirs of political will: not only the will of debtors such as the Greeks, for whom the euro is both a trusted store of value and a symbol of their common European destiny, but also the will of creditors, who have been unwilling to risk the great costs and inevitable political upheavals of a eurozone breakup. Indeed, the determination to reach a deal was even greater at a time the breakup of the European Union itself is on the table in the U.K.’s Brexit referendum.

I.M.F. Takes Firmer Stand Favoring Relief for Greek Debt

By JAMES KANTERMAY 17, 2016

The New York Times

BRUSSELS — The International Monetary Fund is increasing demands for Greek debt relief, setting up another potential standoff with creditors over the country’s bailout, and threatening to create more political and economic uncertainty at an already tumultuous time for Europe.

This I.M.F.’s position opens the next act in the long-running Greek debt crisis, casting the fund against Germany and many of the other eurozone creditors.

The fund is playing the role of the financial police, adamant that Greece will never return to growth if its debt burden is not sustainable. And Germany is the political pragmatist, leaning on Greece to stick with its austerity commitments lest it set a bad precedent for future bailouts and provoke unrest at home.

Now or later? Euro zone, IMF at odds over when Greece should get debt relief

Thu May 19, 2016 6:50am EDT Related: GREECE
BRUSSELS | BY JAN STRUPCZEWSKI
Reuters


The euro zone and International Monetary are struggling with Greece's debt crisis - not with Athens this time, but with each other over when to give Greece a break on its future massive debt repayments.

The euro zone has begun talks on debt relief for Greece but wants to postpone the final decision until 2018; the IMF insists Greek debt repayment is unsustainable and investors need clarity now.

Euro zone finance ministers are likely to forge a tentative plan when they meet next Tuesday - what in Brussels-speak is known as a political agreement. But their offer is unlikely to be anything but highly conditional, euro zone officials preparing the talks said.

IMF Wants Eurozone Debt Relief for Greece Until 2040

Interest rate on eurozone loans would be fixed for 30 to 40 years, say people familiar with IMF proposal

By MARCUS WALKER
Updated May 17, 2016 3:28 a.m. ET
3 COMMENTS
BERLIN—The International Monetary Fund is pressing the eurozone to let Greece skip paying interest or principal on bailout loans until 2040, say officials familiar with the talks.

The IMF wants the loans to Greece to fall due gradually in the following decades, and as late as 2080, according to the IMF’s proposal.

Greece’s interest rate on eurozone loans would be fixed for 30 to 40 years at its current average level of 1.5%, with all interest payments postponed until loans start falling due, under the IMF proposal.

Greece Pushes for Eurozone Summit Meeting to Unblock Debt Talks

By JAMES KANTER and NIKI KITSANTONISAPRIL 27, 2016

The New York Times

BRUSSELS — Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece asked on Wednesday for a summit meeting of eurozone leaders that would allow him to make his case for easier terms on sorely needed aid to help his country avoid bankruptcy.

Without new rescue money by July, Greece could default on its debts and throw the 19-member eurozone into another period of chaos. There could also be a domestic upheaval in Greece similar to last summer, when the country had a referendum on the terms accompanying its third bailout, followed by snap general elections.

Euro zone ready to finalize Greek deal next week, if talks succeed

Wed Apr 20, 2016 11:27am EDT Related: WORLD, GREECE, CAMPAIGN FINANCE
BRUSSELS/ATHENS | BY FRANCESCO GUARASCIO AND RENEE MALTEZOU

Reuters

Euro zone finance ministers are ready to hold an extraordinary meeting next week if negotiations on the review of the Greek reform program are concluded, a senior EU official said on Wednesday, commenting that talks remained difficult.

Discussions between Greek authorities and international lenders have resumed this week in Athens with the aim to conclude a reform review which is a condition to release more bailout money to Greece.

Greek Minister Reaches Out to Lagarde as Bailout Talks Drag

 Theophilos Argitis
 theoargitis
 Rainer Buergin
 RB1atBBG
April 17, 2016 — 1:54 AM EEST Updated on April 17, 2016 — 6:04 AM EEST

Greece’s finance minister arranged a last-minute follow-up meeting with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde before returning to Athens from a gathering of global policy makers in Washington, as the nation seeks to unlock more bailout funds from creditors.
The creditors are considering proposing additional austerity measures that would kick in if the nation missed budget targets, according to a European official familiar with the talks who asked not to be identified. The potential plan is part of efforts to conclude the current round of talks with Greece amid differences between Europe and the IMF, which is reviewing whether to join the latest program and is skeptical that Greece will be able to achieve the fiscal goals.

Greece's Path to New IMF Loan Grows Even Rockier Following Leak

 Andrew Mayeda
April 5, 2016 — 12:00 AM EEST
Bloomberg
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras may be alienating the International Monetary Fund just when he needs it most.
The IMF has questioned whether the goal of reaching a fiscal surplus of 3.5 percent of gross domestic product, agreed to in last year’s euro-area bailout of Greece, is realistic. In the transcript of a conference call published by WikiLeaks on Saturday, the fund’s European Department director, Poul Thomsen, suggests the IMF would accept a revised goal of 1.5 percent. Thomsen has said euro-area countries would have to offer more debt relief if the target is loosened.

IMF Tries To Put Out Fire From Bombshell Greece Leak, But Doesn’t Apologize

Speculation that the IMF would pressure Greece to negotiate is “nonsense,” says a letter rife with thinly veiled criticism.
 04/03/2016 05:33 pm ET | Updated 14 hours ago
The Huffington Post

Daniel Marans
Reporter, Huffington Post

The International Monetary Fund’s managing director told Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras on Sunday that the IMF remains committed to good faith negotiations, trying to assuage concerns raised by a Saturday leak.

Christine Lagarde dismissed the possibility the IMF would use underhanded tactics to pressure Greece in the letter, which was also posted on the IMF’s website.

The Huffington Post first reported on Saturday that Tsipras had asked Lagarde whether Greece could “trust” the IMF in light of leaked remarks by IMF officials suggesting that a crisis-inducing “event” was necessary to get Greece to comply with IMF austerity requests.

“Of course, any speculation that IMF staff would consider using a credit event as a negotiating tactic is simply nonsense,” Lagarde wrote Sunday.

Greece demands IMF explanation over leaked debt transcript

Sun Apr 3, 2016 8:28am EDT Related: GREECE, IMF
ATHENS | BY LEFTERIS PAPADIMAS

Reuters

Greece demanded an explanation from the International Monetary Fund after an apparent leaked transcript suggested the IMF may threaten to pull out of the country's bailout as a tactic to force European lenders to offer more debt relief.

EU/IMF lenders will resume talks on Greece's fiscal and reform progress in Athens on Monday, aiming to conclude a bailout review that will unlock further loans and pave the way for negotiations on long-desired debt restructuring.

The review has been adjourned twice since January due to a rift among the lenders over the estimated size of Greece's fiscal gap by 2018, as well as disagreements with Athens on pension reforms and the management of bad loans.

After WikiLeaks Revelation, Greece Asks I.M.F. to Clarify Bailout Plan

By LIZ ALDERMANAPRIL 2, 2016

The New York Times

Greece called on the International Monetary Fund on Saturday to explain whether it was seeking to usher Athens toward bankruptcy ahead of a pivotal referendum in June on Britain’s membership in Europe. Greece’s comments came after I.M.F. officials raised questions in a private discussion published by WikiLeaks about what it would take to get Greece’s creditors to agree to debt relief.

The transcript, which captures what WikiLeaks said was a teleconference conversation in March between Poul Thomsen, the head of the I.M.F.’s European operations, and the I.M.F.’s Greek bailout monitor, underscored a widening rift between the I.M.F. and Greece’s European creditors that could jeopardize Greece’s new 86 billion euro bailout. It also exposed the fraught behind-the-scenes political machinations that have led to a deadlock on how to deal with a country still regarded as Europe’s weakest link.

What Happens if Greece Misses Payments?

The Wall Street Journal

7:05 pm ET

Jun 15, 2015

By  MATTHEW DALTON and  GABRIELE STEINHAUSER

With little sign of progress in talks on Greece’s international bailout, some European policy makers are considering whether Athens could default but stay in the eurozone. The whole situation is fraught with unknowns, however. Here are some of the complications:

Greece Completes Latest IMF Loan Repayment

Country drew on its holdings of an International Monetary Fund reserve currency

The Wall Street Journal

By MARCUS WALKER and  STELIOS BOURAS

Updated May 12, 2015 2:13 p.m. ET

23 COMMENTS

ATHENS—Greece drew on its holdings of an International Monetary Fund reserve currency to make a loan repayment of around €750 million ($837 million) to the IMF, an unusual move that buys the country a few more weeks to reach a deal with creditors on fresh financing.

Greece Moves to Pay Debt, but European Finance Ministers Unsatisfied

By LIZ ALDERMAN and JAMES KANTERMAY 11, 2015

New York Times

BRUSSELS — The government of Greece, quickly running out of cash, moved on Monday to quell fears of an imminent default on its debts, authorizing its treasury to make a big loan payment to the International Monetary Fund.

While Athens once again managed to pull together enough cash to avoid a default, it is not clear how much longer Greece can continue to scrape by.

IMF's Lagarde To Greece; Pay Us Or Else

APR 17, 2015 @ 11:44 AM 1,865 VIEWS

Opinion

FORBES

Tim Worstall

CONTRIBUTOR

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/04/17/imfs-lagarde-to-greece-pay-us-or-else/

It’s long been true that welshing on debts to the International Monetary fund is just something that a civilised country just doesn’t do. Thus there’s little surprise when Christine Lagarde, the head of the IMF, points out to Greece that there’s really no mileage in that country thinking about not paying the IMF back the money it’s owed. Because, you know, that’s just not something that civilised countries do.

Greece's debt crunch

The Economist

Sorry, no extensions

The IMF turns down a Greek request to postpone next month's payments

Apr 16th 2015 | Europe

Greece Faces Cash Crunch as IMF Payments Come Due

New Greek government stands little chance of receiving help from eurozone soon

The Wall Street Journal

By MATTHEW DALTON and  VIKTORIA DENDRINOU

March 2, 2015 4:37 p.m. ET

BRUSSELS—Greece faces a cash crunch in the coming weeks with little hope of financial help soon from the rest of the eurozone, threatening a serious blow to the country’s fragile economy.

Though the Greek government secured an extension of its bailout program last week, that doesn’t give Athens access to cash pledged to it from the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund. To unlock that money, it will need to agree on a revised program of austerity measures and economic overhauls with its creditors, and pass them into law.

Greece Stirs Doubt on Debt Owed IMF

Cash-Strapped Athens Suggests It Might Be Short on Some March Payments

By IAN TALLEY And  ALKMAN GRANITSAS

Feb. 27, 2015 7:33 p.m. ET

32 COMMENTS

Greece’s cash-strapped government suggested in the past week that it might default on some of the debt it owes the International Monetary Fund in March, which would make it the first advanced economy in the institution’s seven-decade history to fall into protracted arrears with the fund.

Give Greece a Chance

8 NOV 21, 2014 12:02 AM EST

By The Editors

Bloomberg

Greece's creditors are testing the country's endurance -- again. If they keep pressing, they could split the euro area apart, which would be a disaster for them as much as for Greece. They need to stop insisting on the impossible, and find a way to relieve the country's debts.

The European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund have told the government of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to cut the country's debt burden, the biggest in the euro area, by reducing public spending even further. In return, they propose a last injection of bailout money and an emergency credit line.