European Central Bank Raises Support for Greek Banks

People walk past a shop selling Greek and European Union flags in central Athens, Thursday, July 16, 2015. Greece’s troubled left-wing government is seeking urgent relief from European lenders on Thursday, after it pushed a harsh austerity package thought parliament, triggering a revolt in the ruling party and violent demonstrations in central Athens. AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti

FRANKFURT, Germany—European Central Bank (ECB) head Mario Draghi delivered financial and moral support for an embattled Greece on Thursday, saying that emergency credit to Greek banks will be increased—a first step toward helping them reopen.

Greek banks have been closed since June 29, more than two weeks ago, when the ECB’s governing council halted the credit flow due to concerns the banks would go broke and not pay the money back.

In a news conference following the ECB’s regular policy meeting, Draghi said the ECB agreed on Thursday to increase that credit amount by 900 million euros over one week. That raised the total to about 90 billion euros ($98 billion).

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