IMF Chief says no more grace periods for Greece

The International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s chief Christine Lagarde has said that if Greece fails to make a payment instalment of €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) on June 30 that there will be no further leeway or grace period.

Today (Thursday 18 June) Lagarde stated at a press conference that the country’s June 30 deadline must be met.

IMF rules dictate that once a payment is overdue, the country in question immediately becomes ineligible for additional funds until these debts are cleared. Final punishments involve complete expulsion from the IMF.

Lagarde noted that a reformation of the Greek pension system would be critical to the deal, but should not involve cutting small pensions. More than 16% of Greece’s economic output goes to pay pension benefits, which Lagarde notes as being a lot more than average.