The European Central Bank’s (ECB) Governing Council recently granted a request from the Bank of Greece to further reduce the emergency aid mechanism in liquidity (ELA) to $49.83 billion.
 
The Bank of Greece advocated for the $2.15 million reduction in the ELA on the grounds of improved liquidity in the country’s banks, as well as the generally improved state of private sector deposit flows, which have seen increased certainty and consolidation. The Bank of Greece also cited reduced borrowing costs for financial institutions in the country, coming after a June ECB decision that allowed the banks to access to cheap direct financing again.