Greece says bailout package to be 85b euros over three years

[ATHENS] Greece has secured funding from the EU and IMF worth about 85 billion euros over three years, a Greek finance ministry official said on Tuesday after Athens and its lenders clinched a bailout agreement after a marathon round of talks.

The package had been expected to be worth up to 86 billion euros but there had been no confirmation of its size and whether the funding bill had crept up as Greece returned to recession.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said Greek banks would get 10 billion euros in recapitalisation funds "immediately" and would be recapitalised by the end of the year.

The government did not accept a proposal by its creditors to have distressed funds buy bad loans, the official added.

REUTERS