THE EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) is working on an emergency plan to deepen its support for Ireland’s ailing financial system with a new scheme to provide banks with more than €60 billion in medium-term “liquidity†loans.
The initiative, which is being prepared in anticipation of bank stress results next Thursday, will significantly expand the reach of the ECB’s operations in Ireland.
It comes as the Government prepares to make the case to its euro zone partners for significant new measures to ease the burden on the State from the bank bailout.
Since taking office a little more than a fortnight ago, the Government made public on a number of occasions the fact that it was seeking fresh ECB support for the banks.
