The European Central Bank lowered the cap on emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) Greek banks draw from the domestic central bank by 2.5 billion euros to 58.6 billion euros, the Bank of Greece said on Thursday
The move reflected an improvement in the liquidity conditions in Greek banks and the stabilization of private sector deposit flows, it said. The ELA ceiling is valid and up to Thursday, July 21.
Meanwhile, Yiannis Stournaras, Governor of Bank of Greece, said in an interview in the German newspaper Handelsblatt that capital controls will be eased in the near future and withdrawal limits from bank accounts will be increased. However, he clarified the first priority is to remove limits for new deposits. Mr. Stournaras also said that there is no need for further recapitalization of Greek banks and that the Greek banking system is solid with capital adequacy ratios above 16% on average, which is among the highest in the eurozone.