The operations of the Eurosystem are currently on a full allotment basis; banks’ refinancing capacity accordingly depends on the availability of collateral. In recent months Italian banks have significantly increased the collateral pool at the Bank of Italy, to about € billion at the end of January.
Their eligible uncommitted assets on the same date are estimated to have amounted to € billion after the application of haircuts. Since the total exposure to the Eurosystem amounted to about € billion, the Italian banking system’s capacity for further refinancing can be estimated at more than € billion.