EFSF clears way for support of €747 mln
The Board of Directors of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) on Wednesday decided to reduce the step-up margin accrued by Greece for the period between January 1 and June 17 to zero, as part of the medium-term debt relief measures agreed for the country in 2018.
The value of this fifth successive reduction amounts to 103.3 million euros and will be reimbursed to Greece by the EFSF. Additionally, as part of the debt relief measures, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), acting as an agent for the euro area member-states and after their approval, will make a transfer to Greece of €644.42 million euros, equivalent to the income earned on SMP/ANFA holdings.
“Greece has made progress with reform implementation in the challenging circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic. The government has carried out a major reform of the insolvency framework to provide banks the right tools to reduce significantly the ratio of nonperforming loans. The European institutions delivered a positive assessment regarding the completion of Greece’s reform commitments in the second half of 2020. This cleared the way for the next tranche of debt relief measures tied to those commitments,” said ESM Managing Director and EFSF CEO Klaus Regling.