Greece stepped back from the brink over the weekend, after the European Central Bank (ECB) decided to permit a larger limit on short-term loans accepted by the Bank of Greece and the “troika” of the ECB, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) felt it had made progress in getting Athens to agree to strengthening policy efforts in exchange for release of the next tranche of rescue funding.
Reuters reported late Friday on a decision by the ECB’s Governing Council to raise the upper limit for the amount of Greek short-term loans the Bank of Greece can accept in exchange for emergency loans. The Greek central bank had been limited to 3 billion euros ($3.70 billion) in treasury bills as collateral for emergency liquidity assistance (ELA).
The ECB raised that limit to 7 billion euros, Reuters reported, citing the German daily paper Die Welt. The move is expected to keep Athens afloat until the troika decides to let the next round of rescue money flow.