ECB lowers ELA ceiling for Greek banks
The European Central Bank lowered the cap on emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) Greek banks draw from the domestic central bank by 200 million euros to 46.3 billion euros, the Bank of Greece said on Thursday.
The move reflected improving liquidity conditions and the stabilization of private sector deposit flows, it said.
The ELA ceiling is valid up to February 15.
Greek banks have relied on ELA since February 2015 after being cut off from the ECB’s funding window.
Emergency funding is more costly than borrowing directly from the ECB.
In June the ECB reinstated Greek banks’ access to its cheap funding operations, allowing lenders to reduce their dependence on the emergency liquidity lifeline.
[Reuters]
