By Joe Brennan

Thursday December 31 2009

IRISH mortgage lenders' reliance on short-term funding from the European Central Bank (ECB) dropped 18pc to €34bn in November as wholesale funding markets continued to thaw 14 months after the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Home loan providers were using around €2bn of ECB funds to finance their activities before the US subprime crisis erupted in August 2007. But the figure had shot up to €39bn a month after Lehmans imploded, before peaking at a record €72bn last June.

For the first year of the original government banking guarantee, Irish lenders were only able to raise wholesale funding that is due to be repaid before the scheme runs out in September 2010.

The Government has extended the guarantee to enable lenders to sell up to five-year bonds.

Home-loan providers' reliance on ECB funding dips to €34bn - Irish, Business - Independent.ie