Greek banks' ELA dependence declines

Emergency central bank funding to Greek lenders dropped by 0.65 billion euros, or 6.4 percent, in May compared to the previous month, Bank of Greece data showed on Tuesday.

Emergency funding, which is considerably more costly than borrowing from the European Central Bank, dropped to 9.56 billion euros from 10.21 billion euros at the end of April, the data showed.

Greek lenders have relied on emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) drawn from the country's central bank since February 2015 after being cut off from the ECB's funding window due to stalled bailout talks between the government and its official creditors.

Their dependence on the ELA emergency lifeline has declined markedly since June 2016 when the European Central Bank reinstated Greek banks' access to its cheap funding operations.

[Reuters]

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