International development

The International Monetary Fund is doing the best it can to agree on bailout loans for Greece but cannot compromise its principles and cut a sweetheart deal for the country, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Feb. 13.

Amid the reams of documents that the International Monetary Fund published on Greece and its bailout programs last week, a small chart grabbed most of the attention. It compared Greece's economic collapse to the Great Depression in the US and showed that our version has been longer and deeper.

Greek real estate company Grivalia Properties has arranged a 50 million euro ($53.41 million) credit facility with the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC), the IFC said on Thursday.

Grivalia will use the long-term loan facility to improve energy efficiency in its real estate portfolio and for acquisitions.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Wednesday sent a clear message concerning Berlin's stance toward debt-relief talks for Greece.

"We can't undertake a debt haircut for a member of the European single currency, it's ruled out by the Lisbon Treaty," Schaeuble was quoted by Bloomberg as telling broadcaster ARD. "For that, Greece would have to exit the currency area."

Greece's central bank is disputing the International Monetary Fund's view that the country's banks need a 10-billion-euro capital buffer to cover any further bailout support, saying the IMF does not explain why such support would be needed.

Greece's government says members of the International Monetary Fund's executive are in disagreement on bailout measures required for the debt-plagued country, further complicating efforts to break an impasse in talks.

Government spokesman Dimitris Tzannakopoulos leveled the accusation Tuesday, hours after the IMF board issued a gloomy statement on Greece's debt outlook.

The International Monetary Fund's board agreed late on Feb. 6 that Greece likely will need further debt relief, but there remains a split over the appropriate goal for the country's finances.

The board met to discuss the long-overdue review of the Greek economy, as well as a report that describes the country's debt as becoming "explosive" in the long run.     

The International Monetary Fund said on Monday that Greece's economy would only grow by just under 1 percent in the long run given the constraints of its bailout program, but should meet the fiscal surplus target preferred by most IMF directors.

Germany believes the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will remain on board with Greece's bailout, a finance ministry spokesman reiterated on Monday, but said that a IMF decision to pull out would mean the end of the current program.