The reliance of Irish banks on emergency funds from the European Central Bank (ECB) fell by more than €8 billion in February.

The amount of outstanding loans fell from €70.1 billion in January to €61.8 billion last month, the Central Bank said yesterday.

The figures show that Irish banks remain heavily dependent on emergency funding to run their day-to-day operations.

However, they have trimmed that reliance from a high of €187 billion in February 2011 by shrinking balance sheets and making a tentative return to capital markets. – (Reuters)