[AP]
Greece will raise between 8 and 9 billion euros from bond markets in 2026 and repay more bailout loans in December ahead of schedule as the economy continues to recover from last decade’s debt crisis, two government sources told Reuters.
The sum, which had not previously been disclosed, is broadly in line with borrowing in recent years, and marks a further emergence from the financial ruin of the 2009-18 crisis when Greece nearly tumbled out of the eurozone, receiving some €280 billion in bailouts in exchange for years of austerity.
“We will borrow €8-9 billion from the markets next year, as much as this year,” one official said. A second official confirmed that the country will borrow up to €9 billion next year. The first official added that the country will repay €5.3 billion from its first 2010 bailout to its eurozone peers in December. “We want to reduce our debt faster, and we will use part of our cash reserves,” they said.
The country plans to pay off loans granted under the first of three debt-crisis bailouts by 2031, 10 years earlier than scheduled. Borrowing costs have fallen sharply since Greece regained investment grade status in 2023 and are now lower than Italy.
[Reuters]