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Greece repays loan installment

April 9, 2015

Media reports have said the Greek government has met a crucial deadline to pay back a loan tranche to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). But that hasn't removed creditors' anxiety over the country's finances.

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Greek euro coin
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

The leftist government in Greece met Thursday's deadline to repay a 450-million-euro ($483-million) loan installment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Athens News Agency reported.

The payment came as officials in Athens were racing against the clock to reach a deal with international lenders over unlocking another 7.2 billion euros in bailout money in return for structural reforms that many view as harsh.

But Thursday's repayment did little in the way of lessening creditors' doubts about Greece's ability to honor its debt short and medium-term.

Struggling to keep afloat

The AFP news agency reported that the order for the IMF repayment was already given to the central bank as Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras spent two days in Moscow on a charm offensive aimed at strengthening bilateral ties.

A failure to reach a deal about further financial assistance by June could well push Greece into bankruptcy and out of the eurozone.

The country remains in a precarious position despite having raised 1.14 billion euros from the sale of six-month bonds (T-bills) on Wednesday. Greek banks are dependent on the European Central Bank for financing but the latter no longer accepts Greek sovereign bonds as collateral for loans.

hg/cjc (AFP, dpa, AP)