ECONOMY

ECB raises ELA funding ceiling by just 3.3 bln euros

The European Central Bank has reportedly accepted a demand by the Bank of Greece to extend the period of emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) but has only added 3.3 billion euros to the limit of money Greek banks can draw from the costly mechanism.

Agence France-Presse reported on Wednesday that the board meeting in Frankfurt resulted in a raising of the ceiling of ELA funding to Greek banks to 68.3 billion euros from the 65 billion euros that local lenders have already tapped almost down to the last cent.

The ECB is said to have resisted pressure to stop supplying cash to the Greek credit sector, as that would have immediately led to a cash crunch.

Reuters, meanwhile, reported that Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras demanded that the ceiling be raised by 10 billion euros on Wednesday.

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