EFSF will continue to support Greece : Report

MILAN 
A leading figure at the European Financial Stability Facility Thursday struck a fairly positive tone on the euro-zone crisis saying there have been a lot of improvements, although Greece remained an exception to the general trend
Christophe Frankel, deputy chief executive officer and chief financial officer of the EFSF, said the EFSF will continue to support Greece, but that the country didn't progress in the same way as other euro-zone troubled nations did
"Ireland is clearly the success story," he said
Portugal, Spain and Italy have improved their financial situation, he said, but not Greece
His remarks come a day after European Union leaders met in Brussels to discuss measures to boost economic growth, in a week in which euro-zone countries are said to be preparing contingency plans to face the consequences of Greece's exit from the common currency area
Frankel also reiterated the commitment of the EFSF to represent a backstop for financially frail euro-zone countries in exchange for the implementation of fiscal reforms and austerity measures
"We all need time to have the reforms in place and the EFSF/ESM [European Stability Mechanism, the European permanent bailout fund] is fully committed to give time to countries who ask for our assistance," he said
The EFSF priced Thursday its EUR3 billion, three-year bond at 18 basis points over midswaps, according to one of the banks running the deal said Thursday
Combined with the ESM, which will be in place from June 1, the bailout fund has a total lending capacity of EUR700 billion.