New IMF repayment being planned

Greece is considering the repayment of an additional 2 billion euros of its dues to the International Monetary Fund, on top of the 2.7 billion euros it repaid last month.

Finance Minister Christos Staikouras referred to the matter while speaking to Reuters on Wednesday, but without specifying the amount to be repaid. He did however say that "the new early repayment should be up to a certain amount that would allow the IMF to keep its presence in Greece until the end of the post-program surveillance period."
Bond market sources say that the Greek planning provides for the payment of debts of 2 billion euros maturing in 2021.

That would again require the approval of the European Stability Mechanism, though this time it might be harder as the average interest rate of the IMF loans concerned is 1.9 percent, against the 4.9 percent interest on the loans paid off in...