Portugal no longer owes IMF, but there are still accounts to pay

O Portuguese Finance Minister Mário Centeno confirmed Monday that Prime Minister António Costa had already announced a few weeks ago: a debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is due. Portugal has saved a few million with the advance payment, but there are still accounts payable, including the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).

"The payment of the balance of the loan to the IMF, amounting to about 4,700 million euros, has now been made.The total amount of the loan amounted to 28 billion euros. # 39; euros. The savings estimated with this payment, which occurs today, are about 100 million euros."Centeno said a press conference Monday.

Where was Portugal to "get" this money? To pay the IMF, Portugal went to the market to finance itself at interest rates lower than those charged by the IMF.

This advance payment process began in 2015 with a strategy designed by Pedro Passos Coelho's government. The goal was to reduce the costs associated with debt.

There is still an outstanding debt

The IMF is no longer a creditor of Portugal, but there is still a debt to institutions such as the European Financial Stability Facility and the European Stability Mechanism.

In fact, during the financial rescue, Portugal received $ 78 billion, of which $ 26.3 million was borrowed by the IMF and the remaining 50 million remaining from the other two institutions, according to November data released by the Treasury and the Public Debt Management Agency (IGCP), which have still not been settled.

On Monday repayment, Centeno stressed "that it improves the viability of Portuguese debt, boosts investor confidence in Portugal and optimizes the management of the public debt," adding that it will remain "an important liquidity buffer to cope with any turbulence on the market ".