Greece has paid off ahead of schedule debt worth €5.3 billion that had been due after 2031, two government officials said.
Monday’s payment would allow Greece to save €1.6 billion in interest payments until 2041 and lower its debt to below 120% of its economic output by 2029, government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis said.
The debt was part of Greece’s first 2010 bailout from its euro zone peers and the payment was made to each individual country through the European Commission, said a second official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
However, Greece still has the highest government debt-to-GDP ratio in the eurozone.
Greece had planned to pay off loans granted under the first of three debt-crisis bailouts by 2031, ten years earlier than scheduled. [Reuters]