ELA funding to Greek banks drops 7 percent

Emergency central bank funding to Greek lenders dropped by 2.8 billion euros, or 6.9 percent, in June compared to the previous month, Bank of Greece data showed on Thursday.

Emergency funding, which is more costly than borrowing from the European Central Bank, dropped to 37.9 billion euros from 40.7 billion at the end of May, the data showed.

Greek banks have relied on emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) drawn from the Greek 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 lenders.

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

[Reuters]