Greece on Monday completed the early repayment of its debt of 2.7 billion euros ($3 billion) to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stemming from the country's multibillion bailout loans, the Greek Finance Ministry said.

The ministry said the move "reduces borrowing costs ... improves the viability of (Greece's) public debt and further increases market confidence."

According to the ministry, the IMF loans repaid bore an interest rate of 4.91% when current rates on Greek debt are far lower.

Finance Minister Christos Staikouras has said early repayment would save Greece around 70 million euros ($77 million).

The loans were part of a 289-billion-euro ($319 billion) EU-IMF rescue – given on condition of painful cutbacks – that kept Greece afloat amid a decadelong debt crisis.

The third and final bailout ended in August 2018.

Athens expects its economy to grow by 2.8% in 2020 while respecting fiscal pledges to the country's creditors, according to the budget.