Greece's lenders reach common position on requirements to finish bailout review

Greece´s lenders reached a common position at the start of the week on what needed to be done in order to finish the country´s second bailout review and avoid new tensions in its financial system.

"I believe the institutions have a common position and that we will get to a point today where there technical mission can go to Athens so we can get a result," German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Monday.

Schaeuble also believed the International Monetary Fund, which was as of yet undecided on whether to participate, would in the end do so.

"The IMF will be a part of this," Schaeuble said.

Euro area group finance chiefs were due to meet later in the day to discuss the situation.

Alberto Gallo, Head of Macro Strategies at Algebris, said: "Greece stands again, alone, at the centre of a large chessboard. If negotiations were only about Greece, a country of 10m people and an economy the size of Milan or Düsseldorf, then these would have already been completed a long time ago. But it is clear to everyone that the approach to dealing with Greece entangles a much wider array of interests than solving the Greek crisis itself – and can be seen as a blueprint for future crises. Understanding the next steps can reveal insights on Europe's next steps towards, or against integration."

Gallo believed Greece´s debt pile was sustainable if one took European solidarity into account, in the form of economic reforms today in exchange for debt relief tomorrow.

"There could be a quicker agreement on the conclusion of the second review and a plan to restructure Greece's debt through extension/interest reduction later on. An election of a Merkel-Schulz coalition would favour this outcome, with Schäuble becoming less stringent on conditionality."