Banks Take $252 Billion Free ECB Cash With QE Exit in Mind
- Final TLTRO round has largest net take-up since program began
- Free loans become more attractive as rate-hike chances rise
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Euro-area lenders took 233.5 billion euros ($252 billion) in free long-term loans from the European Central Bank as they prepare for the potential end of extraordinary stimulus.
The take-up in the last of the ECB’s Targeted Longer-Term Refinancing Operations -- four-year loans at a rate that starts at zero and could go lower -- compares with a median estimate of 110 billion euros in a Bloomberg survey, with predictions ranging from 30 billion euros to 750 billion euros. The net amount after repayment of 16.7 billion euros from earlier TLTROs is the largest since the program started.