Greece was in a new race against time on Friday to get its EU-IMF bailout on track, with its international creditors pushing for a clear reform pledge.

The two-month-old radical government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has until April to reach agreement with its creditors, but its cash reserves are running dangerously low.

TSB, a division of Britain's bailed-out lender Lloyds Banking Group, has accepted a £1.7 billion takeover from Spanish bank Sabadell, the pair said Friday.

The two lenders have agreed terms on the bid which was pitched at 340 pence per share and worth 2.3 billion euros or $2.5 billion, they said in a statement.

The head of the OECD on Friday welcomed major European countries' participation in a new China-backed infrastructure bank, saying it would ensure the institution was run under existing global standards.

Britain, Germany, France and Italy have announced their intention to sign up for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, to the consternation of the United States and Japan, which lead the World Bank and the Manila-based Asian Development Bank respectively.

The euro ticked higher Friday after Greece promised to provide its creditors with a new list of reforms to secure crucial bailout cash and avoid an exit from the eurozone.

The single currency bought $1.0685 and 128.98 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, against $1.0660 and 128.77 yen in New York as Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said the country's bailout was "back on track".

A Lebanese adman has taken an unusual path to draw the attention of headhunters, or recruiters, after he found himself without a job.

“When I came back from Dubai a few months ago, I found myself looking for a new (advertising) agency and a new opportunity but everything was on stand-by because of the situation in the region and the bad economical situation in Lebanon,” Omar Boustany said.

Sri Lanka said Thursday it had traced more than a billion dollars in public funds allegedly stolen by members of the former regime to a bank in Dubai, and that the total amount taken could be as much as $10 billion.

Rajitha Senaratne, a spokesman for the new government, said investigators had traced $1.06 billion to the National Bank of Dubai, although he did not reveal who held the accounts.

Switzerland on Thursday halved its growth forecast for 2015 as the strong franc bit into the country's exports, but the central bank said it was keeping its monetary policy unchanged.

The Swiss National Bank caused an upheaval in world currency markets when it suddenly scrapped its 1.20 franc cap against the euro in January.

OPEC members have no choice but to maintain current production levels despite falling oil prices in order to preserve their market share, Kuwait's oil minister said on Thursday.

"Within OPEC, we don't have any other choice than keeping the ceiling of production as it is because we don't want to lose our share in the market," Ali al-Omair told reporters.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said there was no reason to despair over Greece, although she warned that a solution to the country's debt crisis would not be found at Thursday's EU summit. 

"If we look at what we have achieved on the road to the European Union, I don't see any reason to give up, or despair. On the contrary," Merkel said in a statement to the German parliament, just hours before the summit in Brussels.

Another surge in U.S. stockpiles pushed oil prices lower again Thursday, giving up some of the big gains in New York that came after the Federal Reserve cooled the chances of an early summer interest rate hike.

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery was down $1.11 to $43.55 while Brent crude for May tumbled 78 cents to $55.13 in afternoon trade.