ECB to extend Greek bank collateral limits

By broadening the collateral framework for Greek banks to obtain the loans – so called emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) – from the Bank of Greece, the ECB would more than offset a reduction in the ceiling on T-Bills the banks could use as security to 3 billion euros from 7 billion, the paper said.

The net increase in available liquidity funding for Greek banks would allow them to buy more Greek sovereign bonds, helping Athens bridge a funding gap, the paper said in a pre-release of an article to run in its Tuesday edition.