The clock is winding down and creditors are getting anxious said U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on Saturday, advising Greek leaders to reach a debt deal that would prevent a major default — one which would otherwise wreak financial havoc across the globe. Without a significant deal in place, the country, which has relied heavily on international loans to subsidize all of its government programs and employee paychecks, would likely miss two of its payments and create a ripple effect that could hurt world economies. Before cementing any sort of monetary assistance though, the International Monetary Fund told Greece that the country must “produce credible reforms” in order to prove that it will properly pay back the $7.2 billion it’s set to receive.

“It’s something that the European and global economies don’t need – to have another crisis,” said Lew in a statement on Friday, indicating that if the country could not come to an agreement, the resulting default would “create immediate hardship for Greece.”

Read more at

Image: Brookings Institute/Flickr