Some of Portugal’s biggest publicly traded banks are planning to use membership at Europe’s largest clearinghouse, LCH.Clearnet Group, Bloomberg reports. The move, which will widen their options in raising short-term financing and ease reliance on European Central Bank (ECB) borrowings, may take place in March 2011.
Banco Comercial Portugues, Banco Espirito Santo and Banco BPI are some of the banks interested in becoming members. The ECB’s funding to Portuguese banks has almost tripled from April to July last year.
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