ECB confirms bank credit is fully operational in euro area

FRANKFURT, March 29 (Reuters) – Eurozone banks are providing credit across the bloc and the next round of cheap loans from the European Central Bank is meant to "protect" the channel, said Friday. ECB board member Benoit Coeure.

"Today, the bank credit channel in the eurozone is fully operational after years of fragmentation," said Coeure at an event in Paris.

"To protect this achievement, we decided at our last monetary policy meeting in March to launch a new series of targeted long-term refinancing operations," TLTRO-III ", starting in September 2019." ( Report by Francesco Canepa, Balazs Koranyi edition)