Banks to return 14.8 billion euros of crisis loans to ECB
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Banks will return 14.838 billion euros (11.12 billion pounds) of crisis loans to the European Central Bank next Wednesday as the first of the two tenders expires next week.
The ECB handed out two rounds 3-year crisis loans in late 2011 and early 2012 at the height of the euro zone debt crisis to help banks ride out a period of strained refinancing conditions. The first tender is due to mature on Jan. 29.
The amount banks will repay on Jan. 28 is slightly more than the 13.864 billion euros banks repaid this week and beats the 10 billion euros money market traders polled by Reuters had expected. [ECB/REFI]
To offset such a tightening liquidity trend in the system, the ECB has start pumping more money to banks by buying securitised private debt and will in future also purchase government debt.
The ECB said one bank would repay 6.0 billion euros from a first long-term refinancing operation (LTRO) and 12 banks would repay 8.838 billion euros from a second.
(Reporting by Paul Carrel)
