The European Central Bank is considering to extend the maturity of its loans to banks in two or even three years, wanting to prevent the crisis in the euro area does not cause a "credit crunch" that would stifle the economy, we learn of sources familiar with the matter.
The ECB considers this unprecedented opportunity, while growing fears of an explosion in the euro area affect the interbank market, banks tend to reduce the number of establishments to which they lend.
For now, the maximum maturity of liquidity operations of the ECB is one year.A bank to finance two or three years from the ECB, it could be misinterpreted. "
Another source said that the ECB was considering the possibility of providing liquidity to maturity in the same vein through several short-term loans, pledging to keep such a line of credit for a period up to three years.
In June 2009 the ECB has proposed for the first time refinancing operations to one year. She repeated this year with a LTRO to 12 months in October and 13 months in December.