Banks parking more cash with ECB

Banks are parking more money overnight with the European Central Bank in a sign the eurozone debt crisis is unsettling the banking system. Banks deposited ¤255.6 billion ($347.1 billion) overnight Friday, the highest this year, the central bank said on Monday. That surpassed the previous year high of ¤229 billion from Thursday.
The deposits suggest banks would rather stash money with the ECB than lend it to each other. Banks are afraid that other banks could suffer losses on Greek and other government bonds in case of a default and not pay them back. The increase follows a worsening of fears about a Europe-wide banking crisis and credit crunch that could hurt global economic growth. The governments of Belgium, France and Luxembourg have had to come to the rescue of Dexia, a bank that had trouble borrowing on the interbank credit market because it is heavily exposed to Greek and Italian bonds.