EU said to agree in principle to 7 billion-euro Greece loan

Euro-area finance ministers agreed in principle to extend a 7 billion-euro ($7.6 billion) bridge loan to Greece, according to an official familiar with the decision.

The loan is due to be announced on Friday once national parliaments have voted on the bailout deal that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras signed up to on Monday, the official said, asking not to be named because the conversations were private. The loan will come from the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism, the European Union’s rescue fund, the official said.

The loan should help Greece clear a 3.5 billion-euro payment due to the European Central Bank on Monday, and keep the country afloat while Tsipras negotiates the details of a three- year bailout of as much as 86 billion euros.

Euro-zone officials are trying to find a way to make the rescue program work after the bloc’s leaders thrashed out a deal during 17 hours of talks. Tsipras cleared his first hurdle when he won support in the Greek parliament for a new round of austerity in a vote in the early hours of Thursday.

[Bloomberg]