German banks tapped more than half of ECB Tender

More than half of the 800 lenders that borrowed the European Central Bank’s Feb. 29 tender of three- year loans were German, mainly small savings and cooperative banks.

Germany’s biggest 15 so-called systemically relevant banks were underrepresented in the tender with fewer than half tapping the loan and, while numerous, the savings and cooperative banks borrowed small sums, Die Welt newspaper said in a pre-released report. It didn’t say where it got the information.

In all, German banks borrowed less than 10% of the tender, worth €529.5 billion ($699 billion), compared with 26%, or €140 billion, borrowed by Italian banks, Die Welt said. German banks make up a quarter of the euro-area’s total bank balance sheet while Italian banks have a 12% share.