Financial assistance to Greece dependent on IMF participation - German Finance Ministry

German Finance Ministry said on Tuesday that further financial assistance to Greece is dependent on the successful completion of a review of its bailout program and the participation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Greece needs a new tranche of financial aid under its 86 billion euro bailout by the third quarter of the year to avoid the risk of defaulting on its debts. Greece’s government debt will reach 275 per cent of its gross domestic product by 2060, when its financing needs will represent 62 per cent of GDP, IMF report says. The government estimates public debt at about 180 per cent of present GDP.

Under the current program, loans have been disbursed by euro zone creditors without the formal participation of the IMF, although that has always been a requirement. Creditors now want to apply the agreed conditions for new loans to Athens more strictly. The IMF is set to discuss its role in the Greek bailout in a board meeting on Feb. 6.

Klaus Regling, who chairs the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), said on Monday that Greece will only receive more loans from the bloc if the IMF joins its latest aid program, spelling out a condition thus far disregarded by Athens's creditors.