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Greece meets ECB payment

• AFP
• 5 HOURS AGO

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Greece has repaid €3.4 billion ($A5.14 billion) to the European Central Bank, a source close to the Greek government says.

Greece was able to repay the loan as eurozone finance ministers announced that they had disbursed €13 billion to Athens and set aside another €10 billion to recapitalise the country's cash-starved banks.

The finance ministers of the 19-country eurozone announced late on Wednesday that they had formally approved a new bailout worth up to €86 billion after European parliaments, including the German Bundestag, had given it their green light.

Klaus Regling, the managing director of the Eurozone Stability Mechanism (ESM) that manages the bailout signalled Greece was making a fresh start.

"Today's ESM disbursement (of €13 billion) will allow Greece to meet its urgent financial obligations to the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank, and other budgetary needs," Regling said in a statement.






"The second sub-tranche of €10 billion will contribute to stabilising the banking sector, whose situation deteriorated sharply after the imposition of capital controls in June," he said.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch finance minister who chairs the so-called Eurogroup of his eurozone peers, said the reform-for-aid accord formally approved on Wednesday would hopefully give Greece a new lease on life.

"This agreement provides perspective for the Greek economy and a basis for sustainable growth," he said.

"The Greek government is bound to implementing this wide-ranging reform package with determination and we will monitor the process closely," Dijsselbloem said.

"We are certain to encounter problems in the coming years but I trust we will be able to tackle them," he added.