ECB raises Greece’s loan ceiling by €1.1bn

The European Central Bank has raised the level of emergency cash available to Greek banks by €1.1bn, people familiar with the decision said, as Ireland makes contingency plans in case Greece is forced to exit the euro.

The ECB governing council increased the limit on emergency liquidity assistance to €84.1bn from €83bn in a meeting in Frankfurt yesterday, the people said, asking not to be named because the discussion wasn’t public. An ECB spokesman declined to comment.

With Greece cut off from global markets, its financial system depends on central bank liquidity to replace deposits withdrawn amid the political uncertainty over the country’s place in the euro. Even so, prime minister Alexis Tsipras has accused the ECB of “financial asphyxiation.”