ECB Begins Great Cash Mop-Up as Banks Repay 296 Billion Euros of Loans

A sign outside the European Central Bank building in Frankfurt, Germany, on Oct. 27, 2022. Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters

FRANKFURT—Eurozone banks are set to repay nearly 300 billion euros ($310 billion) in loans to the European Central Bank next week, the ECB said on Friday, the biggest cash withdrawal from the eurozone’s financial system in the euro’s 22-year history.

The move is part of ECB efforts to fight record-high inflation in the eurozone by raising the cost of credit and it is its first step towards mopping up even more liquidity next year by trimming its multi-trillion-euro bond portfolio.