Chief of IMF Lagarde in key meeting with Greek bankers in London

The managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, is to meet on Thursday afternoon with the head of the Hellenic Bank Association, Nikos Karamouzis, and executives of Greek banks in London.

The aim of the meeting is to convince the Fund of the stability of Greek banks, according to sources.

Earlier on Thursday, Poul Thomsen, the head of the IMF's European department, pointed to a shift in the Fund's position on Greek banks.

While IMF officials have been indicating that a further recapitalization of Greece's banks is probably necessary, with an injection of some 10 billion euros and an asset quality review (AQR), Thomsen pointed to a new position.

"On the subject of the Greek banking system, let me emphasize that we see no financial stability concerns at all in Greece," Thomsen told the Financial Times Investment Management Summit in London on Thursday.

However, he stressed that Greece must ensure it has a medium-term strategy for the management of non-performing loans.