The International Monetary Fund's short-term loan program for Greece could be shifted to a longer-term program if it stays on track, European Central Bank executive board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said on Sunday.
"There is a standard procedure which has been implemented many ways, in which the IMF transforms short-term programs to longer-term programs when it observes and assesses that the short-term programs are well on track," Bini Smaghi told reporters in Washington. "This is something which now we will see how this would work. It has not been decided."
The IMF and the European Union granted a 110 billion euro ($154 billion) bailout for debt-stricken Greece in May after Athens committed itself to years of painful budget austerity.
The IMF has said that Greece has met all the performance targets under its portion of the bailout - a three-year 30 billion euro ($42 billion) loan - and has consistently praised Greece for its progress in making economic and fiscal reforms.
Bini Smaghi said extension of IMF loan "stand-by agreements" for states that meet targets is often granted. He did not specify how long of an extension might be granted for the Greek loans or whether an extension might apply to other portions of Europe's Greek bailout.
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