European bailout fund to disburse first Greek tranche today

Athens to receive 13 billion euros, of which about 12 billion euros will be used to pay down debt

The European Stability Mechanism will disburse the first tranche of funds from Greece's bailout loan on Thursday, the Greek finance ministry said after the ESM board approved a rescue of up to 86 billion euros on Wednesday.

Athens will receive 13 billion euros on Thursday morning, the ministry said, of which about 12 billion euros will be used to pay down debt, including an earlier bridge loan and money owed to the European Central Bank.

"Nearly one billion euros will be made available to the Greek state, a sum that can be used to pay arrears," the finance ministry said in a statement.

The new bailout package of up to 86 billion euros ($95.66 billion) for 32.5 years includes up to 25 billion euros to recapitalise Greek banks, of which 10 billion will be immediately available, according to the ministry.

Athens needed the funds in time to make a 3.2 billion euro debt payment to the European Central Bank on Thursday.

The initial 13-billion-euro tranche will be paid in cash, while the 10 billion euros for the recapitalisation of banks will be sent to a segregated account in the form of ESM notes.