IMF confirms Greek bailout cash
The International Monetary Fund yesterday approved a €28bn (£23.3bn) bailout for Greece, part of a broader international rescue package for the debt-laden Eurozone member. The IMF said in a brief statement it would immediately disburse €1.65bn to Athens, in a deal to help keep Greece funded until 2014. The IMF board approval ends months of uncertainty for Greece, which secured the IMF-EU package after agreeing to a series of painful economic adjustment measures and after completing a debt swap that imposed losses of as much as 74 per cent on private bondholders. However, the head of the European Commission’s special task force to Greece, Horst Reichenbach, warned that while the country is making progress in collecting tax arrears, it must do more to cut red tape and help businesses get the economy growing.