Roundup: Greece turns to balances of dormant state accounts to repay IMF loan

Greek government on Tuesday turned to the balances of dormant state accounts in an effort to collect funds to repay the next International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan installment on June 5, as Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis assured there will be no credit event next week.

Deputy Finance Minister Dimitris Mardas announced that the government will transfer balances from bank accounts held by the central administration in commercial lenders to the state's main account in the central Bank of Greece by June 5.

The action concerns 1,039 dormant state accounts with no transactions since December 2009 and the total amount was estimated at about 1 million euros (1.09 million U.S. dollars).

Earlier this spring, as state coffers were running dry, the government sought the transfer of "idle" funds from about 2,000 bank accounts of the local administration to the central bank.

The step was made amidst increasing concern that Athens may not reach a deal with its creditors on the terms of the resolution of the Greek debt crisis on time to secure vital aid to be able to repay the next 300 million euros IMF installment in June.

Greek cabinet ministers have issued clear warnings lately that without a deal Greece can not make the payment.

Varoufakis appeared confident during a press briefing on Tuesday that an agreement on reforms in exchange of cash was close and the payment will be made.

"We will repay the installment. There will be a deal by June 5," the Greek official said.

After four months of negotiations, Athens and lenders have still not agreed on the next set of policies which would unlock further financial assistance to avert a possible bankruptcy and Grexit.

On Tuesday, the Greek Finance Ministry said that during talks there was a proposal on taxing bank transactions and impose a levy on withdrawals from ATMs, but the Greek side rejected it. Endit