How much does Greece owe its international creditors?
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Economic Progress
Greece, which may default on an International Monetary Fund repayment later this month unless it receives fresh funds, owes official lenders 242.8 billion euros, according to a Reuters calculation from official data.
Germany is by far the largest creditor.
That figure combines two bailouts from European governments and the IMF since 2010 as well as holdings of Greek government bonds by the European Central Bank and national central banks in the euro zone.
Private investors hold 38.7 billion euros of Greek government bonds following a major write-down and debt swap in 2012 that reduced the Greek debt stock by 107 billion euros and the value of private holdings by an estimated 75 percent.
The Greek government has also issued 15 billion euros in short-term Treasury bills, mostly to Greek banks.
Here is a breakdown of the country’s foreign debt stock:
IMF – Greece was promised a total of 48.1 billion euros by the global lender, of which 16.3 billion is still to come by March 2016 if Athens successfully completes the second programme. It has serviced and repaid loans on time up to this month, when it used an obscure IMF provision to bundle together four payments totalling 1.6 billion euros, due to be paid by the end of June. The older IMF loans carry an interest rate of 3.5 percent, higher than the euro zone rescue fund charges.
ECB – The euro zone’s central bank holds Greek government bonds worth 19.8 billion euros at face value, of which 6.7 billion mature in July and August, posing a severe redemption or refinancing challenge for Greece. In addition, national central banks in the Eurosystem hold 7.2 billion euros in Greek bonds. The ECB has also authorised 110 billion euros in emergency liquidity assistance for Greek banks from the Greek central bank, some of it secured on collateral in Greek government bonds.
The Euro Zone – Euro zone governments gave Greece 52.9 billion euros in bilateral loans under the first bailout agreed in 2010, known as the Greek Loan Facility. Under the second bailout agreed in 2012, Athens has received 141.8 billion euros from the euro zone’s financial rescue fund and is due a further 1.8 billion euros by the end of this month if it meets the reform conditions.
Of the main euro zone member states, Germany’s exposure for the two bailouts totals 57.23 billion euros, France’s is 42.98 billion, Italy’s is 37.76 billion and Spain’s 25.1 billion. That is in addition to their contributions to the IMF loans, commensurate with their respective quotas in the global lender.
Euro zone countries extended the maturities of their loans to Greece from 15 to 30 years and reduced the interest rates on some to just 0.5 basis points above their borrowing cost. They also granted Greece a 10-year moratorium on interest payments on the second bailout loan from the euro zone rescue fund.
This article is published in collaboration with Reuters. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.
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Author: Paul Taylor is the European Affairs Editor for Thomson Reuters.
Image: A European Union flag flatters next to a Greek flag. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis.
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