Not our problem

31 July 2015 By Edward Hadas Follow @edwardhadas

The global lender only got involved in the Greek mess because the euro zone was too young to deal with its own problems. As a third bailout nears, the IMF says it wants out, unless both sides behave sensibly. This call for realism may actually be listened to.

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Staff at the International Monetary Fund believe Greece is not eligible for a third bailout from the global lender, according to a four-page “strictly confidential” summary of a July 29 board meeting.

IMF staff expressed concern over the high debt levels of the Greek government and the country’s poor record of implementing agreed reforms, and said the fund could not participate unless the value of existing Greek debts was written down. The Financial Times obtained a copy of the summary.

On July 30, an official at the international lender told journalists in a telephone briefing that “the IMF can only support a program that is comprehensive”. He added that it “will take some time” before Greece and its European creditors can lay the necessary groundwork for a new IMF programme.

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