Emergency liquidity assistance given to banks in August was €9.85 billion

CYPRIOT banks’ emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) came to €9.85 billion in August, one of the lowest amounts so far this year, according to Central Bank data.

National Central Banks provide ELA against collateral to lenders with liquidity problems that are considered solvent. The European Central Bank needs to okay the provision, which infamously kept the island’s second biggest lender, Laiki, afloat until it was shut down this year as part of a €10 billion international bailout. By that time, Laiki had amassed over than €9 billion in ELA, most of which has been inherited by the Bank of Cyprus.

The Bank of Cyprus has recently exited administration status after its depositors bailed it out by accepting a substantial haircut to recapitalise it. Cypriot banks can now borrow directly from the ECB.  ELA figures stood at over €11 billion for most of the previous months of the year, with the exception of February when it stood at €10.2 billion and January at €9.1 billion. The Central Bank publishes the balance sheets at www.centralbank.gov.cy (click on “the bank” sidebar and choose “financial information”). ELA is listed as “other claims on euro area credit institutions denominated in euro”.

 

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