Thirty-three euro zone banks took up a total 21.3 billion euros ($25.1 billion) at the ECB's auction, at which they can borrow for one week to meet their day-to-day obligations. It was the highest amount since March and broke a prevailing trend that has seen banks steadily reduce their reliance on ECB cash since 2015. A week earlier, the ECB had lent just 3.2 billion euros in its Main Refinancing Operation (MRO). Dealers and analysts speculated this could be a sign that banks were fearing jitters on the funding market if Catalonia breaks away from Spain, potentially cutting off its banks from ECB liquidity. The ECB, which declined to comment for this article, does not provide data on how much individual banks or countries borrow at its auctions.

Source: Times of India October 10, 2017 15:21 UTC