FRANKFURT – The European Central Bank took action Tuesday to support lending to companies across the 19-country eurozone by easing rules for banks that tap the central bank for ready money.
The action comes amid widespread efforts by central banks such as the ECB and the U.S. Federal Reserve to keep the economy supplied with credit so that businesses can weather a devastating period of shutdowns, travel restrictions and social distancing.
The Frankfurt-based central bank said it was temporarily easing collateral rules for lending to banks, meaning banks can now use a wider range of financial assets as collateral for short-term central bank credit and would get more money loaned for a given amount of collateral.