EFSF approves medium-term debt relief measures for Greece

Τhe European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) on Thursday said its board approved the implementation of a set of medium-term debt relief measures for Greece.

Eurozone finance ministers had endorsed the measures at the Eurogroup meeting on 22 June 2018.

The measures for Greece approved consist of a mechanism for the conditional abolition of the step-up interest rate margin related to the debt buy-back instalment of the second Greek programme from 2018 onwards; a further deferral of interest and amortisation by 10 years on 96.4 billion euros of EFSF loans to Greece; and the extension of the maximum weighted average maturity of the above-mentioned loans by 10 years, respecting the program authorised amount.

“We estimate that the total package of medium-term measures agreed by ministers last June should lead to a cumulative reduction of Greece’s debt-to-GDP ratio of around 30 percentage points until 2060,” ESM Managing Director and EFSF CEO Klaus Regling said on Thursday.

“We also expect Greece’s gross financing needs to fall by around eight percentage points in the same time horizon.”