The Greek government has missed the deadline for its latest €1.5bn ($1.1bn) payment to the International Monetary Fund IMF).
An IMF spokesperson said: “I confirm that the SDR 1.2 billion repayment (about EUR 1.5 billion) due by Greece to the IMF today has not been received. We have informed our Executive Board that Greece is now in arrears and can only receive IMF financing once the arrears are cleared.”
Greece has become the first developed country in the IMF’s 71-year history to miss a payment to the body. The missed payment is not being treated as a “credit event” by Greece’s creditors, staving off a default for now, although the pressure on Greek’s shuttered banks will continue. The development is a further blow to Alex Tspiras’ hopes of securing a No vote in the forthcoming referendum on the now-expired bailout package.
UPDATE: 10am 1/7/15
The ministers say they will discuss an 11th-hour request from the Greek government for a new two-year extension of the payment deadline. An IMF spokesperson said it would go to the board and be discussed “in due course”. But German chancellor Angela Merkel insists that nothing will be considered until after Sunday’s referendum on creditors’ bailout terms.
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