Bank deposits at ECB back over 75 bln, bond buys up

 

The amount of cash deposited by banks at the European Central Bank rose, data showed onTuesday.

The ECB said commercial banks deposited 75.512 billion euros ($113.1 billion) at the 16-country bloc's central bank overnight, compared with 67.996 billion previously.

A total of 429 million was borrowed by banks overnight, upfrom 95 million euros previously.

The ECB's 60 billion euro covered bond buying programme also continued to make progress. The total value of bonds purchased to-date reached 18.431 billion euros, up from 18.299 billioneuros and leaving the ECB almost a third of the way through itsplan.

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

It dumped a further 75 billion euros of one-year money intothe system in the second installment at the beginning of the month.

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