Greece repays 2.5 billion euros in debt to the EFSF with proceeds from the reprivatisation of banks

Greece has repaid 2.5 billion euros in debt to the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), as the ESM announces today in an official statement from Luxembourg. The repayment was made on Thursday, October 1, with the proceeds from the reprivatisation of Greek banks that had previously received support from the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF).

“This repayment is another sign of the progress Greece has made in strengthening its economy and its financial system,” EFSF chief executive Pierre Gramegna declared in the statement published today. According to him, the proceeds from the reprivatisation of the banks tangibly reflect the recovery of the Greek banking sector after the crisis, while using part of those proceeds to repay the EFSF lowers Greece’s public debt and sends a signal of confidence to the markets. “It is a positive result for Greece,” Gramegna said.

As the Greek news agency APE-MPE writes, on September 1 Greece notified the EFSF and the ESM that the Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations (HCAP — after its merger with the HFSF) has around 4 billion euros in proceeds linked to the HFSF. Both mechanisms have contractual repayment rights over these proceeds; the EFSF exercised its right for 2.5 billion euros. The amount was allocated to the EFSF because its loans cost more than those of the ESM, while both mechanisms retain rights over the remaining part.

As a consequence of this repayment, the EFSF’s 2026 funding programme falls to 16.5 billion euros, already issued this year, the ESM announces.

We recall that on June 15 Greece repaid early 6.94 billion euros in loans taken under the first Memorandum (GLF). According to APE-MPE, in total during 2026 Greece will repay public debt early worth 12.84 billion euros.