EFSF, ESM to reimburse Greece nearly 750 mln€ in additional debt relief

The European Financial Stability Facility’s (EFSF) board of directors on Wednesday announced a decision to eliminate a step-up margin accrued by Greece for the period between Jan. 1, 2021 and June 17, 2021, part of what it called medium-term debt relief measures eyed for the country, initially decided in 2018.

The value of the fifth successive reduction amounts to 103.3 million euros, with the sum to be reimbursed to Greece by the EFSF.

The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) will also transfer to Greece 644.42 million euros, equivalent to the income earned on SMP/ANFA holdings, another debt relief measure.

“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 non-performing 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,” ESM Managing Director and EFSF CEO Klaus Regling said in a statement.