Emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) and monetary policy
Euro area credit institutions can receive central bank credit not only through monetary policy operations but exceptionally also through emergency liquidity assistance (ELA).
ELA aims to provide central bank money to solvent financial institutions that are facing temporary liquidity problems, outside of normal Eurosystem monetary policy operations.
The rules and procedures surrounding the provision of ELA are laid down in the ELA agreement, which sets out the Governing Council’s role in the provision of ELA by national central banks (NCBs), in particular when assessing, pursuant to Article 14.4 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and of the ECB, whether the provision of ELA by Eurosystem NCBs interferes with the objectives and tasks of the ESCB.