Advertisement

Siemens said to move French bank cash to ECB

Author thumbnail
Siemens said to move French bank cash to ECB
Photo: DPA

German industrial giant Siemens refused on Tuesday to comment on a newspaper report that it had withdrawn about half a billion euros in cash from a French bank and parked it at the European Central Bank.

Advertisement

"We are not commenting, because we view it as unsourced speculation," a Siemens spokesman said.

According to a report in the Financial Times, quoting a source with direct knowledge of the matter, Siemens withdrew more than €500 million ($683 million) from a large unnamed French bank two weeks ago and transferred it to the European Central Bank.

It was a sign, the newspaper said, of how companies were seeking havens for

their cash during the eurozone debt crisis.

Siemens withdrew the money partly out of concerns about the future financial health of the unnamed bank and partly to benefit from the higher interests paid by the ECB, the FT said.

Siemens is only one of a handful of large companies that have a banking licence allowing them to deposit cash directly with the ECB. Contacted by the AFP news agency, the ECB also declined to comment.

AFP/The Local/mry

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also