ECB financing to local lenders grows in June
Greek banks? use of the European Central Bank?s refinancing operations dropped to almost nothing in May as they were frozen out of ECB liquidity operations, before increasing again in June after they got a capital boost. Greek bank reliance on ECB liquidity fell to 3.4 billion euros in May from 62 billion euros in April, according to an Athens bourse filing from the Bank of Greece on Tuesday.
Reliance on Emergency Liquidity Assistance, or ELA, which is extended by the Central Bank, climbed to 124 billion euros in May from 59.2 billion euros the month before, it said in the statement. The ECB suspended Greek banks from its funding operations on May 16 until they received a capital boost from funds that were earmarked for the purpose from Greece?s 130-billion-euro March loan package from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
The freeze was lifted after the country?s bank recapitalization fund disbursed 18 billion euros on May 28. Lenders? reliance on ECB liquidity increased to 73.7 billion euros in June while their ELA funding dropped to 61.9 billion euros, the Bank of Greece said in a separate statement. [Bloomberg]
