ECB restores cheap liquidity for Greek banks

Greek bank financing is reverting to normality, as the European Central Bank on Wednesday decided to restore a waiver which will allow the ECB to accept Greece’s junk-rated bonds in exchange for funding, as of next Wednesday, June 29.

This will considerably lower the cost of borrowing for the country’s lenders, which since February 2015 have relied on the Bank of Greece’s costly emergency liquidity assistance (ELA).

The ECB also decided on Wednesday against allowing Greece to enter its bond-buying program, saying this will only take place at a later stage, once the country has come closer to meeting its fiscal targets.