Greece closes in on bailout deal possibly within the day

Greece is seeking to conclude talks with its creditors to secure up to 86 billion euros of three-year loans needed to keep the country in the euro.

Primary surplus targets (revenue minus expenditure – excluding debt interest payments) have been agreed, according to Reuters.

Dealing with a mountain of nonperforming loans (NPLs) in the banking sector were among the sticking points in talks.

“An agreement has been reached”.

Greek finance minster Euclid Tsakalotos said “two or three small details” were still pending in bailout negotiations. “I don’t think the probability has reduced that it will be more next time”, Willsch told Deutschlandfunk. “I don’t know if it will be tomorrow morning, but soon, it will be soon”, he said.

Greece’s government is hoping to push the new 85 billion-euro ($93 billion) three-year agreement through parliament this week. The new bailout package would come on top of $265 billion the country received in two prior bailouts since 2010.

Appearing to throw cold water on the positive comments from both sides, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters: “The principle “thoroughness over speed” applies here in particular”.

Officials had also argued over how to set up a sovereign wealth fund in Greece designed to raise 50 billion euros from privatisations, three-quarters of which would be used to recapitalise banks and to reduce the debt.

German lawmaker Ralph Brinkhaus, a top official of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU party, said earlier Monday that such a solution would be “better than a bad agreement”.

Greece’s primary deficit is expected to be no larger than 0.25pc of gross domestic product (GDP) this year.in 2016, the country is expected to post a surplus of 0.5pc of GDP next year, rising to 1.75pc in 2017 and 3.5pc in 2018.

The bailout would then need to be ratified by Greece’s parliament this week amid opposition from many in Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ own ruling left-wing Syriza party.

But with his popularity among Greeks still high, Tsipras has warned the dissidents of early elections in the autumn if they continue to resist the measures.