Greece exits final bailout successfully: ESM

[August 20, 2018]  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece has successfully exited its final, three-year bailout program, agreed in August 2015 to help it cope with the continued fallout from a debt crisis, the euro zone's ESM rescue fund said on Monday.

 Eurogroup President Mario Centeno speaks during a panel entitled "Reforming the Euro Area: Views from Inside and Outside of Europe" during IMF spring meetings in Washington, U.S., April 19, 2018. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

"Today we can safely conclude the ESM program with no more follow-up rescue programs as, for the first time since early 2010, Greece can stand on its own feet," Mario Centeno, the chairman of the ESM's board of governors, said in a statement.

"This was possible thanks to the extraordinary effort of the Greek people, the good cooperation with the current Greek government and the support of European partners through loans and debt relief," he said.

The ESM has disbursed 61.9 billion euros over three years in support of macroeconomic adjustment and bank recapitalization.

A further 24.1 billion euros that was available to Athens under the program was not needed, the fund said.

(Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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