GERMANY SAYS 'NEIN' TO GREEK REQUEST

Germany, the country's largest creditor has rejected a Greek request for a six-month extension to its eurozone loan programme. saying its offer doesn’t meet the euro region’s conditions for continuing aid. Greece had sought a new six-month assistance package, rather than a renewal of the existing deal that comes with tough austerity conditions.

Greece has until 28 February before its €240 billion bailout expires leaving the government without financing and its banks at risk of being completely cut off from the lending facilities of the European Central Bank. A move to cut off Greek banks could well force Greece to leave the eurozone

Debt repayments soon fall due: Greece owes €1.5 billion to the IMF in March, followed by €6.5 billion in bond repayments due to the ECB and its eurozone partners by August.

The ECB reportedly increased its access to funding for Greek banks. Shut out of normal funding operations and facing dwindling deposits, Greek banks have been relying on Emergency Liquidity Assistance, or ELA. The threshold for emergency assistance was reportedly raised by €3.3 billion to €68.3 billion.

1. Eurozone governments are seeking more clarity from Greece about its budget plans, particularly for 2015. Greece’s only pledges to agree on measures that would attain appropriate primary fiscal surpluses, guarantee debt stability and assist in the attainment of fiscal targets for 2015 that take into account the present economic situation.
2. Eurozone governments also want more detail on Greece’s pledge to keep in place “structural reforms”such as cuts to its pension system that are required under the current bailout.
3. Greece does not make a clear commitment to work with the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and ECB as the programme’s supervisors and enforcers.
4. Greece’s pledge to honor its debts appeared ambiguous and open to interpretation.