Bank overnight deposits at ECB rise, bond tally up

Overnight bank deposits at the European Central Bank rose slightly, data showed on Thursday, while the amount of covered bonds purchased by the ECB as part of its stimulus programme continued to rise.

Banks deposited 82.703 billion euros at the ECB overnight on Sept. 16, compared to 80.087 billion euros deposited previously.

The amount banks borrowed from the ECB's overnight account rose to 152 million euros from 104 million euros previously.

The amounts parked at the ECB's deposit facility have been high since it flooded money markets with almost half a trillion euros in one-year funds at the end of June.

The ECB and the 16 euro zone national central banks are also buying euro-denominated covered bonds debt backed by a pool of assets such as mortgage loans that remain on the issuing bank's balance sheet over the next year, from both primary and secondary markets.

The ECB said the total purchased rose to 12.108 billion euros from 11.782 billion euros. It means the ECB is now roughly 20 percent of the way through the 60 billion euros it has earmarked to spend.