'Realistic' Italy banks will ask for 37 billion euros in ECB TLTROs - minister
ROME (Reuters) - Italy's Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said on Tuesday it is "realistic" to estimate that the country's banks will ask for a total of 37 billion euros (29.61 billion pounds) in the two offers of the European Central Bank's new long-term loan programme (TLTRO) this year.
Padoan spoke in an interview with RAI state television. The ECB's two lending offers are scheduled for Sept. 18 and Dec. 11.
(Reporting By Giuseppe Fonte; writing by Steve Scherer; Editing by Oleg Vukmanovic)