Crunch time: Greece in arrears as it fails to pay back £1bn IMF loan

The deadline for Greece to make a  €1.6bn (£1.1bn) payment to the International Monetary Fund has formally expired and the country is now in arrears on its international loan. The country is now teetering on the brink of default. "I confirm that the SDR 1.2 billion (€1.6bn) repayment due by Greece to the IMF today has not been received,“ IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said.

I think Mr Tsipras screwed up the negotiations, frankly. Because he believed that Europe needs Greece as much as Greece needs Europe, and that is sadly not the case.

Miranda Xafa of the Centre for International Governance Innovation

Greece is the first developed country to miss a payment to the IMF in the organisation’s 71-year history. Eurozone finance ministers also rejected a last-minute appeal for an extension of Greece’s existing bailout agreement, which expired late on Tuesday evening. Talks will resume later to discuss a new two-year financial aid plan proposed by Greece, which includes a request for debt restructuring. At least 20,000 people, many waving European and Greek flags, gathered in front of parliament in Syntagma square five days before a referendum on whether or not to accept a new bailout. A No vote could see Greece leave the eurozone.

Business Greece