Banks do their bit at T-bill sale

Greek banks on Wednesday joined the country's battle to secure liquidity and replace the funds the government is drawing from the state's cash buffer so as to finance the support measures for the economy and businesses. Lenders recorded a high level of participation in the Public Debt Management Agency's (PDMA) treasury bills issue on Wednesday, a trend set to continue in the coming weeks and months.

The PDMA auctioned 26-week T-bills on Wednesday through which the state drew 1.3 billion euros, while the final amount will rise to €1.6 billion with the non-competitive bids, against total offers of €1.666 billion with an interest rate of 0.36 percent.

Market sources said the participation of foreign banks in the auction was small (their bids added up to €400 million), while the bulk of the issue was covered by Greece's four systemic banks.

Foreign investors' low...