Eurozone lets Greece off hook for now on loan repayment

Eurozone governments on Friday decided not to ask Greece for an immediate repayment of rescue loans from the currency union's bailout fund in response to Athens' default on its loan from the International Monetary Fund, the Market Watch reported.

The European Financial Stability Facility has lent Greece €144.6 billion ($160 billion) in recent years and the terms of those loans allow the fund to seek immediate repayment if a borrower defaults on the IMF. Greece missed a €1.56 billion payment to the IMF on Tuesday.

The EFSF's board of directors, which consists of senior-finance ministry officials from the 19 Eurozone countries, has reserved its right to take action on the loans to Greece at a later stage, the fund said in a statement.

"The EFSF is Greece's biggest creditor. This event of default is cause for deep concern," the EFSF Managing Director Klaus Regling said. "It breaks the commitment made by Greece to honor its financial obligations to all its creditors, and it opens the door to severe consequences for the Greek economy and the Greek people. The EFSF will closely coordinate with the euro area member states, the European Commission, and the IMF on its future actions."