Where do you see this?
In news articles about the euro zone sovereign debt crisis.
What does it mean?
LTRO stands for 'Long Term Refinancing Operation'. It refers to a cheap long-term loan from the European Central Bank (ECB) to euro zone banks.
Why is it important?
The point of an LTRO is to inject liquidity into the banking system.
Banks can use cheap funds to buy higher-yielding assets to increase profits or lend to businesses and consumers, which would stimulate the economy.
The ECB has pumped more than $1 trillion euros (S$1.7 trillion) into the financial system via two LTROs so far.
The first round was in last December and the second was in February this year. Both these LTROs were three-year loans at an interest rate of 1 per cent.
Another round of LTROs is being proposed to fight the current panic in the markets.
So you want to use the term. Just say...
"The ECB's two LTROs helped to prevent a more severe credit crunch in the euro zone."
invest, The Sunday Times, June 24 2012, Pg 37
lol i saw this on first page i thought we are talking about Lord of the Rings, LotR