Frozen Europe Means ECB Must Use ELA as Finance Lights Dim

The first rule of ELA is you don’t talk about ELA.

The European Central Bank is trying to limit the flow of information about so-called Emergency Liquidity Assistance, which is increasingly being tapped by distressed euro-region financial institutions as the debt crisis worsens. Focus on the program intensified last week after news leaked that the ECB moved some Greek banks out of its regular refinancing operations and onto ELA until they are sufficiently capitalized.