In the case of the credit claims recently added to the list of eligible collateral, the haircut amounts to 53% on average, and reaches up to 75% in individual cases. It is also true that the non-standard measures have resulted in an increase in the now much discussed TARGET2 balances of some national central banks in the Eurosystem. The Deutsche Bundesbank, for example.
The TARGET2 net balance of the Deutsche Bundesbank vis-à-vis the ECB stood at € billion in April. Contrary to certain reports, however, the TARGET2 imbalances do not indicate that urgently needed funds are flowing out of countries such as Germany. In actual fact, excess liquidity is available at Germany’s banks. Misunderstandings in this respect can thus lead to incorrect conclusions.