Broke and Borrowing: Banks in Italy and Spain Take More Than 45% of ECB Loans

Source: BlackListedNews.com

Banks in Italy and Spain were among the leading borrowers in the European Central Bank’s first targeted-loan program, taking more than 45 percent of the 82.6 billion euros ($106.5 billion) to trim funding costs.

UniCredit SpA (UCG), Italy’s biggest bank, said it raised 7.8 billion euros, while Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP), the second largest, took 4 billion euros. Banco Santander SA sought 3.6 billion euros, a person familiar with the matter said, the most among Spanish banks whose borrowings were disclosed. The top lenders in Germany and France didn’t say how much they borrowed.

Banks across the euro area took less than some economists had estimated, complicating the ECB’s effort to spur lending to companies and individuals by tying cheap four-year credit to the size of banks’ loan books. The euro region posted no growth in the second quarter as its three biggest economies -- Germany, France and Italy -- failed to expand or contracted.

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