Greece pushed a step closer to eurozone exit after IMF snub
The Guardian - Apr 16, 2015
Greece has been pushed a step closer to default and potential exit from the euro after one of its main lenders, the International Monetary Fund, all but ruled out allowing the cash-strapped country to delay repaying the €1bn (£722m) due next month.
The head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, said delaying the payments would be an unprecedented action that would only make the situation worse.
Speaking at the organisation’s spring meeting, she said: “Payment delays have not been granted by the board of the IMF in the last 30 years.â€
Her intervention is likely to heighten fears that senior policymakers in the US and Europe are preparing for Greece to leave the eurozone.
She said that delays had “been granted to a couple of developing countries ... and that was not followed by very productive resultsâ€.
The IMF is a rules-based institution, Lagarde said. While all options were available, she added: “It’s clearly not a course of action that could be recommended in the current situation.â€
