Greece to get €6.3bn loan slice

Greece will receive 6.3 billion euros ($8.7 billion) from its pending EU bailout fund at the end of April, Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Tuesday. "A first tranche of 6.3 billion euros at the end of April will allow Greece to meet its debt servicing needs in May," Dijsselbloem said during a Eurogroup meeting in Athens. He added that two more slices of 1.0 billion euros will be disbursed in June and July, noting that the release was tied to Greek progress on pledged reforms. Greece was first bailed out by the EU, the IMF and the European Central Bank with 110 billion euros in 2010. When that effort failed to stabilise the country's finances, veering Greece dangerously close to exiting the eurozone, the country got a second rescue in 2012, plus a private sector debt write-off. According to the 2012 plan, the IMF's funding for the Greek government should continue through 2016, while the EU-ECB support should end this year.