Eurozone banks will repay an additional 36.6 billion euros in ECB loans ahead of schedule, the European Central Bank said Friday, Feb. 10, a small move that may still help the ECB fight inflation by absorbing cash from the financial system. The latest repayment of the ECB’s targeted long-term refinancing operations (TLTRO) will bring the total outstanding TLTRO loans to about 1.22 trillion euros, still more than half of last fall’s level.
The ECB allows banks to repay TLTRO loans early to eliminate some of the monetary stimulus of the past 10 years and to reduce interest rates on deposits after a sharp increase in interest rates. Friday’s repayment will be settled on Feb. 22.