FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Banks stepped up their repayment of old loans given to them by the European Central Bank on Friday, a day after many took fresh long-term credit at almost zero cost.
The ECB said that 21 banks would repay 13.4 billion euros ($17 billion) from an earlier first round of emergency loans given at the height of the financial crisis.
A further 46 banks would repay 26.3 billion euros from a second such offer, it said, taking the total repayment to almost 40 billion euros.
The repayment is significantly higher than one week ago when banks repaid just 14 billion euros and indicates that some banks may be encouraged by the fresh funding to repay earlier credit.
The accelerated repayment of old loans adds further pressure on the ECB to buy government bonds with new money in order to meet a pledge to expand its balance sheet by 1 trillion euros.
Expectations it will do so by purchasing assets or lending to banks are helping underpin financial markets.
(Reporting By John O'Donnell; Editing by Paul Carrel)