Default is the first step on return to drachma in Greece

Greece’s default on its debt to the IMF could prove to be the first step in it effectively leaving the euro, proving that the currency union is not set in stone.

Greece’s bailout expires today, with a payment to the IMF also due, but people are already looking ahead with dread to July 20, when the country is due to redeem €3.45bn worth of bonds that are currently held by the ECB.