MNI POLICY: ECB lent USD142 Billion Under Covid Swap System

By Luke Heighton

     FRANKFURT (MNI) - Loans from the Eurosystem to euro area banks under

additional U.S. dollar liquidity operations announced by the ECB on 15 March

2020 stood at USD142 billion as of May 5, the ECB confirmed Monday.

     The facility, which has an 84-day maturity, was part of a coordinated

action taken with the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan,

the Federal Reserve System and the Swiss National Bank in response to the

Covid-19 pandemic.

     "The ECB does not publish a breakdown by country of the take-up in

individual refinancing operations, but only the overall take-up and the number

of banks participating in each operation," the ECB said, in a letter published

Monday in response to a request from MEPs.

     "U.S. dollar operations are conducted as a "fixed rate full allotment"

tender procedure in line with all euro-providing liquidity operations.

     "The allocation of funds across euro area countries reflects the demand for

such funding from banks located in those countries and is not linked to the

ECB's capital key."

--MNI Frankfurt Bureau; +49-69-720-146; email: luke.heighton@marketnews.com

--MNI London Bureau; +44 203 865 3829; email: jason.webb@marketnews.com

[TOPICS: M$X$$$,M$$EC$]