Frankfurt - European Central Bank policymakers have sanctioned further emergency funding for Greece's banks, a banking source said, amid clear signs that the wider euro zone economy is picking up.
With an ECB survey showing banks expecting the strongest demand for company loans in over a decade, its President Mario Draghi will be able to claim an early success for the 60-billion-euros-a-month money printing scheme it launched last month.
The ECB's borrowing rates are all but guaranteed to be held at record lows by policymakers meeting on Wednesday, but continued wrangling between Greece and the euro zone over reforms for aid is casting uncertainty over the 19-country currency bloc.
Nonetheless the 1 trillion-euro-plus money printing scheme to buy chiefly government bonds is underpinning confidence and some predict Draghi will underscore his commitment to quantitative easing on Wednesday.
“We expect Draghi will confirm that the full implementation of the (QE) programme will be needed despite the recent strong data and that they are not even pondering any changes,” said Dirk Schumacher, an economist at Goldman Sachs.
Time is running out, however, for Athens to improve a package of reforms required for the release of euro zone loans that it requires to stay afloat.
Draghi may address problems in Greece after the ECB's decision-making Governing Council extended the limit on emergency liquidity that can be drawn by Greek banks. This has been rising as savers, worried about the country's prospects, withdraw deposits.
The European Central Bank raised the cap on emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) that Greek banks can draw from the country's central bank by 800 million euros ($852 million), taking the ELA ceiling to 74 billion euros, a banking source said on Tuesday.
Were Greece, first bailed out in 2010 and again two years later, ultimately to tumble out of the euro, it would deal a blow to the credibility of the currency union.
Draghi is likely to address the euro zone's improving economic prospects. In its World Economic Outlook on Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund raised growth expectations for all the major economies in the bloc.
The ECB's actions are creating fertile conditions for growth, with the euro at a 12-year low buoying exporters and borrowing in many countries cheaper than ever.
The QE programme has already prompted a dramatic rise in the value of bonds and investors are now wondering whether it could become too costly for the ECB to buy in top-rated countries such as Germany.
The ECB is likely to add roughly 10 debt-issuing agencies to the list of those that qualify to sell the ECB bonds, said a person familiar with the issue.
Draghi will hold a press conference on Wednesday before he travels to Washington to join finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 top economies at the International Monetary Fund's Spring meeting.
Reuters