Banks' reliance on funding declines

Irish banks' reliance on Irish and European central bank funding fell slightly in the month to May 25th, according to figures published by the Central Bank this morning.

The total amount of official lending to Irish commercial banks stood at about €125.9 billion at the end of May, down from €128 billion in April and €130 billion in March.

Lenders in Ireland had just under €84.5 billion in outstanding loans from the European Central Bank as of May 25th, down from €86.8 billion at the end of April.

However, Irish banks' use of emergency liquidity assistance (ela) funding from the Irish Central Bank inched back up from €41.35 million in April to €41.5 million in May. It had stood at €45 billion at the end of March.

ELA funding is typically used when a commercial bank no longer has collateral to meet the ECB's standards for lending.

The figures include both domestic and international banks operating in Ireland.

Spain's reliance on ECB funding for its banks reached a record high in March of €316.3 billion, almost double what they borrowed in February. Reliance on ECB funding signals a bank's difficulty in borrowing from wholesale markets.