FRANKFURT, Feb 10 Reuters Euro zone banks will repay another 36.6 billion euros in European Central Bank loans early, the ECB said on Friday, a small move that may still help the central bank39;s fight against inflation by mopping up cash from the financial system.

The latest repayment of the ECB39;s Targeted LongerTerm Refinancing Operations will take the amount of outstanding TLTRO loans to roughly 1.22 trillion euros still more than half of its level in the autumn.

The ECB has given banks the option of repaying TLTRO loans ahead of schedule to unwind some of its monetary stimulus of the last decade, and to reduce the amount it pays in interest on deposits after sharply raising interest rates.

Friday39;s repayment will be settled on Feb 22.

Reporting By Francesco Canepa; editing by Balazs Koranyi

Source Reuters