IMF to Decide on Greece Contribution in March

Wall Street Journal
February 21, 2012

The board of the International Monetary Fund will decide on the size of its contribution to the enhanced bailout deal for Greece "in the second week of March," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Tuesday.

At a press conference in the small hours after a gruelling 12-hour meeting, Ms. Lagarde said that it was premature to speculate on the board's decision. Unconfirmed reports circulating before the meeting had suggested that the fund wanted to cut its contribution by 50% or more, after shouldering 30% of the original bailout deal negotiated in spring 2010.

Ms. Lagarde said that the IMF would be closely following Greece's implementation of prior commitments, as well as following Europe's progress in strengthening its "firewalls" to contain the crisis.

The euro zone is due to discuss an increase in the size of the €500 billion ($662.1 billion) European Stability Mechanism at a summit meeting March 1 and 2. Germany, the region's main paymaster, has so far resisted pressure to put more of its taxpayers' money at risk, but many of the IMF's non-European membership have expressed reluctance to lend any more to euro-zone countries until the euro zone does more to help itself.

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