Greece could get bailout extension to March 2016: Report

Greece and its international creditors are discussing an extension of the country's bailout program through to March 2016, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

The reported offer to prolong the program (which was already extended in February by four months) is an attempt to break the current impasse over reforms between Greece and its creditors, and avert a Greek default, the WSJ said Monday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the talks.

Greece is rapidly running out of money and has not yet received the last tranche of aid from its current bailout program because it has not implemented reforms that are a condition of aid.

This has led to protracted talks -- and disagreements – over reforms between Greece's leftwing government and the bodies overseeing its bailout program: the European Commission, European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Greece is reluctant to implement more austerity measures and both sides say they have presented alternative proposals, leading to the current standoff.

While a nine-month extension would certainly give Greece more time to reach an agreement with its creditors, whether it could continue to fund itself and honor its debt obligations in the meantime is another matter.

But according to WSJ sources, Greece would get access to 10.9 billion euros ($12.3 billion) in aid -- originally set aside to prop up Greek banks -- to help stay solvent over the proposed bailout extension.

The measures are said to have been discussed last week at a meeting of European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, and Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras.

Expectations of a resolution were raised following the meeting, during which Greece's creditors put forward new reform proposals. But hopes were dashed later in the week when Tsipras called creditor proposals as "absurd" in a speech to the Greek parliament on Friday.

On Monday, Juncker told German television network ARD that he was waiting for Greece to "build its part of the bridge" with regards to reform proposals.

But there are concerns that a bailout extension would simply postpone Greece's economic problems.

Philippe Waechter, head of economic research at Natixis Asset Management, told CNBC Monday that a solution was needed now -- not next March.

"It's bringing uncertainty to the European markets, and not only in Europe – I was in Asia last week and the main topic for them is Greece. We need to find a solution rapidly, not waiting until next year," he told CNBC Europe's "Squawk Box."

"We all need a solution on this issue because Greece is a small country in Europe, but its behavior is conditioning all the current situations in the euro zone and that's not sustainable."