ECB trims haircut on Greek banks' collateral

ATHENS: The European Central Bank reduced the haircut it applies on the bonds Greek banks submit as collateral to borrow funds, a Greek central bank official told Reuters on Thursday, in a move to boost their access to liquidity.

"The move was decided late on Wednesday evening after talks between the government, the ECB and Greece's central bank governor," the official said.

He said the new smaller valuation discount meant that an extra 12 billion euros of liquidity could in theory be tapped by Greek banks.