Central banks

The European Central Bank lowered the cap on emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) Greek banks draw from the domestic central bank by 0.9 billion euros to 51.9 billion euros, the Bank of Greece said on Thursday.

The move reflected improving liquidity conditions in Greek banks and the stabilization of private sector deposit flows, it said.

The Bank of Greece is expecting a higher-than-anticipated primary budget surplus for this year and insists on the need for a reduction to future targets, while a European Central Bank official refuted a Reuters report suggesting Frankfurt was in favor of a target reduction.

The European Central Bank lowered the cap on emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) Greek banks draw from the domestic central bank by 4.4 billion euros to 52.8 billion euros, the Bank of Greece said on Thursday.

The move reflected improving liquidity conditions in Greek banks and the stabilization of private sector deposit flows, it said. The ELA ceiling is valid up to September 21.

Greek bonds and stocks have been in international isolation since June, when the first 7.5 billion euros of the tranche of 10.3 billion got disbursed. Foreign investors are ignoring Greek securities due to the persisting uncertainty over the prospects of the country's economy.

The European Central Bank on Thursday lowered the cap on emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) Greek banks draw from the Bank of Greece by 4.4 billion euros to 52.8 billion euros, following a request by the central lender.

The EBC's decision reflected improvements in the liquidity of local lenders through the stabilization of the private sector's deposit flows.

Greece may sell one or two small bonds following the inclusion of its debt in the ECB's quantitative easing program, to test market appetite and send a signal to investors the crisis-hit country is getting back on its feet.

A survey conducted by Bloomberg revealed that over 80% of the economists asked believed ECB President Mario Draghi would extend the quantitative easing (QE) policy beyond the scheduled deadline of March 2017.

The European Central Bank held key interest rates at historic lows Thursday, but made no announcement regarding Greece despite speculation it may offer a helping hand to its cash-strapped banks.

The ECB, expected to hold fire on monetary policy at its meeting Thursday, will likely focus instead on welcoming Greece back into the fold of fully-fledged eurozone borrowers after a bailout deal, analysts said.

The ECB, expected to hold fire on monetary policy at its meeting on Thursday, will likely focus instead on welcoming Greece back into the fold of fully-fledged eurozone borrowers after a bailout deal, analysts said.