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Despite Tsipras Complaining That "ECB Has Rope Around Our Neck" Greece Finds Enough Cash To Make IMF Payment

Tyler Durden's picture




 

While the biggest economic event of the week was the US February jobs report, one of the lingering concerns following last week's report that Greece is in financial dire straits, is whether the Eurozone member nation would default on its IMF loan as soon as today when it had a scheduled €310 million payment due to the IMF. Earlier today, in the build up to the NFP report, it was reported that indeed Greece had managed to dig deep under the cushion and find just enough cash to make the required partial loan repayment thus avoiding a technical default.

It was unclear how much if any of the funds paid to the IMF, which in turn will likely use some if not all of the cash to promptly give Ukraine a stabilizing loan and prevent the all out collapse of that particular economy, came courtesy of Greek pensioners which as also previously reported, is one place where the Greek government was looking for a source of funds.

As Reuters reports, "struggling to scrape together cash and avoid possible default, Athens made a 310 million euro (223.37 million pounds) partial loan repayment to the International Monetary Fund, while Tsipras pleaded to be allowed to issue more short-term debt to plug a funding gap."

This is happening as Greece sent its euro zone partners an augmented list of proposed reforms on Friday ahead of a Eurozone meeting on Monday, "but EU officials said several more steps were required before any release of aid funds."

 

Greece is running out of options to fund itself despite striking a deal with the euro zone in February to extend its EU/IMF bailout by four months.

 

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has refused to raise a limit on Athens' issuance of three-month treasury bills which Greek banks buy with emergency central bank funds. He said on Thursday the EU treaty prohibited indirect monetary financing of governments.

No matter the reality, Greece continued its defiant, if only on paper (literally) ways after Greek premier Tsipras complained in an interview with Germany's Der Spiegel that "the ECB has still got a rope around our neck" adding that if the ECB continued to object, it would be assuming a grave responsibility.

"Then it would be back to the thriller we saw before Feb. 20," Tsipras said, referring to the date when Greece agreed a four-month extension of its bailout with euro zone partners after market jitters ignited by political uncertainty.

That said, the thriller will continue on a weekly basis absent further Eurozone funding because even with this payment down, Greece has weekly IMF payments amounting to 350 million on March 13, 580 million on March 16 and another 350 million on March 20.

Where it will get the required funding if the Eurogroup continues to humiliate the now groveling government, is unclear. What is clear is that the tragicomedy is set to repeat again next week when Greece will again auction €1 billion of three-month treasury bills on March 11 to refinance a maturing issue, debt agency PDMA said on Friday, announcing its second sale this month as the government faces a cash crunch, Kathimerini reported.

Issuing T-bills is the only source of commercial borrowing for the left-right coalition government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. The country's EU/IMF creditors have set a 15 billion-euro cap on such issues which has already been reached.

 

The settlement date of the new T-bills will be March 13, when a previous 1.6 billion-euro issue of three-month paper matures. Only primary dealers will be allowed to participate and no commission is to be paid.

Earlier this week Athens sold six-month paper, successfully rolling over a maturing issue but at the highest yield in 11 months. Since foreign investors refused to participate in the auction the Greek government was forced to use part of the reserves of the Greek Social Security fund and other public entities held at Bank of Greece, to complete the required payment. 

According to some sellside estimate, there is no more public entity funds available to "swap" for payment liquidity on a short term basis, so unless the Eurozone agrees to boost Greek funding, the country may run out of money as soon as its next IMF payment.

 

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Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:20 | 5861490 kliguy38
kliguy38's picture

Trojan horse operative for the banksters....the Greeks were greeked

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:32 | 5861581 SafelyGraze
SafelyGraze's picture

the IMF special drawing right is a unicorn poot breathed into circulation by the IMF so that it can be exchanged for any flavor of fairy fart that is breathed into circulation by a centralbank

but, you may ask, do you breathe flatus? 

that is to say, how to exhale the gaseosity?

simple.

you first inhale.

deeply.

that's it.

now hold it.

hold it.

hold it.

and .. release

 

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:37 | 5861599 Ghordius
Ghordius's picture

the IMF? that's the one entity where when it get's money back, it's called "the IMF", but when it lends money it's often called "the US tax payer"

but don't worry, graze safely and believe whatever you heard about SDRs

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:14 | 5861500 f16hoser
f16hoser's picture

He stold it from Greece Govt. Pensioners. "Through their deeds you shall know them"

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:21 | 5861529 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

No, BORROWED.  Borrowed.  They'll put it back.  Honest.

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 13:09 | 5861739 JR
JR's picture

Luckily, we have your viewpoint on the “through their deeds you shall know them.” But the solution has not come down to us, yet. If I may be so bold, you seem to be supporting the bank’s authority to use its leg irons and neck chain on the Greek people. You could clear this up in a second by explaining, other than by default, how you would represent Greece against the IMF threat.

What a wonderful insight your solution would give Americans to be able to handle their debt slavery to the tyrants of the central bank who are systemically taking Americans’ savings, their pensions, their social security trust fund, their corporate pensions. . . in short their property and the value of their labor.

For a current look at how the US/Zionist Empire destroys pensions, take a look at Yats' and Poroshenko's Ukraine.

The IMF is part of “a secret worldwide plot by the superrich to convert all governments, including that of the United States, to world socialism which they, the international bankers and business cartels, would control.” –W. Cleon Skousen, The Naked Capitalist

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:17 | 5861506 HamRove
HamRove's picture

Raiding pension accounts isn't nice....All those old greasy Greeks will pitch a fit.

Until next week sports fans!! 

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:20 | 5861526 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

They only borrowed from the pension.  They'll put it back.  Promise.

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 13:27 | 5861813 JR
JR's picture

I ask: Who confiscated Americans’ Social Security Trust Fund that now is just a pile of paper IOUs? Tsipras?

Didn’t I read on ZH today of Greenspan's mockery of the intelligence of Americans who expect to receive back what they’ve been promised in their Social Security contract when he noted "the annual rate of increase in entitlements of 9% per year...and the people that receive it believe they are getting their money back and have a right to it."

IOW, “How dare the people trust the government?” And Greenspan, above all others, would know how untrustworthy this banker-controlled government is.

I notice Greenspan did not mention the impact of the millions of new US arrivals added to SS who've contributed nothing to SS but expect a right to others’ SS contributions.

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:19 | 5861515 Stoploss
Stoploss's picture
"ECB Has Rope Around Our Neck"

It's not the ECB's rope...

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:21 | 5861518 cheech_wizard
cheech_wizard's picture

>Since foreign investors refused to participate in the auction the Greek government was forced to use part of the reserves of the Greek Social Security fund and other public entities held at Bank of Greece, to complete the required payment. 

So after the banksters drain the last drop of blood out of Greece, who is next on their list?

 

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:46 | 5861640 SamAdams
SamAdams's picture

Correct.  Greek needs to default ASAP.  Get this can crunched.

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:19 | 5861519 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

"Since foreign investors refused to participate in the auction the Greek government was forced to use part of the reserves of the Greek Social Security fund and other public entities held at Bank of Greece, to complete the required payment."

No comment necessary.  Other than I found a place to stick the fork.  They're done.

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:22 | 5861531 Philo Beddoe
Philo Beddoe's picture

The baster is stuck in the ass. You are going to have to find another place for your fork. 

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:32 | 5861582 Colonel Klink
Colonel Klink's picture

That ain't no baster!!

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:22 | 5861530 tarabel
tarabel's picture

 

 

So they are going to fix the problem by issuing higher interest rate bonds to replace maturing lower interest rate bonds?

That can is going to be the size of a 55-gallon drum by the end of the year.

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:22 | 5861533 no more banksters
no more banksters's picture

Liberation from the IMF-ECB dictatorship. Grexit now.

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:22 | 5861534 Phat Stax
Phat Stax's picture

An army of whoring eunichs had to turrn a few more overtime tricks to scrape up the cash.

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:23 | 5861539 Dr. Engali
Dr. Engali's picture

Glad to see the people of Greece finally have someone in office looking out for their best interests.

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:28 | 5861561 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

If elections mattered.....

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:24 | 5861545 riot-police
riot-police's picture

At least they get to repay their dept in Euros. If they wait a bit longer it might become a real steal. Borrow High repay Low. 

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:31 | 5861575 Colonel Klink
Colonel Klink's picture

More robbery of the people from the political scum who were elected to default on the debt by those being robbed.

/discussion

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:31 | 5861579 HamRove
HamRove's picture

"Now there gonna have to come up with Pauly's money EVERY WEEK. Your olive ranch burned down? FUCK YOU pay me. All your sheep were stolen? FUCK YOU pay me. Oh, you ran out of grape leaves and pita pockets, eh? FUCK YOU pay me!"

If the new government isn't careful Greece is going to become Europe's largest nudist colony.

 

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:51 | 5861665 Thisisbullishright
Thisisbullishright's picture

....and then finally, when there's nothing left, and you can't borrow another buck from the bank, you can't buy another case of booze.....you BUST THE JOINT OUT!  You light a match...

GREAT damn movie!!

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:34 | 5861588 adonisdemilo
adonisdemilo's picture

Tsipras should go back to the Greek people and ask them why, in view of the Troika rope round all our necks, do you still think that keeping the Euro is a good idea when we can go back to the Drachma, default as of now,

and tell the Troika, sorry, "institutions" to fuck off.

P.S. We can not improve our/your lot whilst shackled to a stupid political nightmare. We are going down so we might just as well take all the shysters and scam artists with us.

Fuck the EU.    (as per Nuland, the only sensible thing she's ever said)

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 13:40 | 5861879 skistroni
skistroni's picture

Let me tell you why, I wrote it in another post in a different way:

Because this is not the 1950's. This is 2015. We are part of a Euro economy whether we like it or not. I was a Euro fan until I realised that it's not so good as they present it to be for us, however, I sucked up and adapted my business to working WITHIN a Euro economy. I could not feed my children by playing the independent Drachma cowboy. And that's what the majority of people still working and producing something (and thereby able to pay taxes) have done over here. 

To put it another way: For most of Greek businesses, a large part of expenses are Euro-denominated, whether we like it or not. Going out now, would simply mean that most of these businesses go bust within the first 6 months at best, and EVERYONE will have to adapt to a market which will be very limited in imported goods including oil, natural gas, any kind of non-local raw material, infrastructure machinery (from bulldozers to IT stuff). So all the skills that our workers have developed in the last 15 years will be almost useless, we'll just have to go back to agriculture (with very expensive energy costs due to Drachma devaluation) and/or tourism, although I doubt that tourists would rush to visit a country were poverty will have destroyed any social cohesion left. Maybe in a few years. But what will people eat in the meantime? 

We're fucked anyway, but saying "fuck the EU" is definitely the same as shooting ourselves in the head right now. 

I hope that this will help you and others understand that people eventually tend to do what is actually good for them, with the given conditions they find themselves living in, and not what any fucking economic theorist would tell them to be good for them.

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 16:25 | 5862518 nicxios
nicxios's picture

Fucking Chicken Little the sky is falling without the Euro idiots. BULLSHIT.

 

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 16:34 | 5862548 skistroni
skistroni's picture

Do you have any fucking actual argument opposing what I wrote above? Go ahead, I'll wait.

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:36 | 5861593 RadioactiveRant
RadioactiveRant's picture

There is nothing more pathetic than a grown man begging.

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:36 | 5861595 JR
JR's picture

The noose around Greece is rope made in the USA, manufactured by the international bankers at their central bank, the Fed.

When the term “debt slavery” comes up, Greece is Exhibit A.

It’s the spider spinning the web to trap sovereign nations and the message: Pay and pay and pay. Either way, pay or default , it’s going to cost you your country.

And the spider created his trap with money - created out of nothing.

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:39 | 5861610 YHC-FTSE
YHC-FTSE's picture

I'm sorry, Greece is going to issue BILLION EUROS of 3 month T-bills to cover the other debt payments? 3 months!! At the same time they have to cover 1.280 Billion euros of payments to the IMF from March 13th to 20th?

There are only 2 words to describe this situation: Stupid and fucking. If this situation feels like agony and hopelessness to me, I can only guess how it must feel to the Greeks. For goodness sake, give it up. Default and live again.

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:47 | 5861647 Thisisbullishright
Thisisbullishright's picture

So when do the Greek "pensioners" riot in the streets??  This will end very badly (for the average Greek).....

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:47 | 5861652 thamnosma
thamnosma's picture

I'm wondering exactly what did Syriza do differently from the previous government?

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:52 | 5861666 Lmo Mutton
Lmo Mutton's picture

Why don't they just "issue" a trillion dollar Drachma coin and flip it to the banksters?

They can make both sides heads so the banksters think they won.

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:58 | 5861692 Spectre
Spectre's picture

IMHO, the Greeks brought all of this shit upon themselves, ultra-entitlements, corruption,tax evasion,political cronyism, etc.  Then as the debt ballooned out of control, finally thet have had a day of reckoning after $300 Billion in bailouts.  

Why does everyone blame the ECB & IMF, every lender has terms & conditions of repayment for any debt, including high risk debt.

 

The tax evading shipping magnets and others are to blame.

 

Same story here in the USA, it's just we have bigger printers that will delay our own day of reckoning.

 

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 13:04 | 5861721 Colonel Klink
Colonel Klink's picture

Just ask Gollum Sacks, they have their dirty tribal hands in all those things.

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 13:27 | 5861812 GFORCE
GFORCE's picture

EUR/USD is heading for 0.75 versus the dollar. QE and negative rates will send it there. http://market-guru.co.uk/euro-continues-break/

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 13:28 | 5861818 bart12
bart12's picture

Tsipras and Greece politicians are just a bunch of coward and weasel

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 13:35 | 5861852 yogibear
yogibear's picture

How do the Greek people feel about their new leaders now that they have been sold out?

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 13:38 | 5861872 Peter Pan
Peter Pan's picture

They may as well cull everyone's bank account while there is still money to be found.

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 13:40 | 5861878 AbbeBrel
AbbeBrel's picture

Kyle Bass: "A rolling loan gathers no loss" :-) So keep pushing that rock uphill, Tsipras!!!

And so to MIX TOTALLY the metaphors - this routine really reminds me of the Cosby routine on Noah -

How Long Can You Tread Water????
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg1tTmLzAI4

(with the ECB playing the Deus ex machina role here, roll that rock and be careful to NOT run over the CAN while you are rolling it!! And take good care of that Elephant!)

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 13:41 | 5861889 JR
JR's picture

Planning to Retire?: You can kiss that goodbye, says Gary North. And he’s not addressing Greeks, he’s addressing Americans:

 

“The New Yirk Times has sounded the alarm. Word is getting out to the intellectuals. It is not getting out to the general public. Here is reality:

Here is something every non-rich American family should know: The odds are that you will run out of money in retirement.

On average, a typical working family in the anteroom of retirement — headed by somebody 55 to 64 years old — has only about $104,000 in retirement savings, according to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances.

That’s not nearly enough. And the situation will only grow worse….

“The stock market since March 27, 2000, is flat, discounting for price inflation. The S&P 500 was where it was when it peaked. This means 15 years of nothing.

You can’t earn money in the stock market.

Your bank savings pays you nothing.

U.S. bonds pay a little over 2%. Basically, nothing.

Another recession is guaranteed.

You cannot save your way out of this black hole.

What are your plans? They had better involve working to at least 75. Maybe 80.

You had better stay in good health.

You had better be out of debt.”

http://www.lewrockwell.com/2015/03/gary-north/planning-to-retire/

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 18:03 | 5862921 bid the soldier...
bid the soldiers shoot's picture

Hypothetical

 

How much is it worth it to Russia (and China) to have 99 year leases on 3 or 4 naval bases on the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas?

just askin'

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