City bank devoid of capital (3)

I believe the answer is:

ely

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'city' is the definition.
(Ely is a city in Cambridgeshire)

I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.

(Other definitions for ely that I've seen before include "Cathedral city in East Anglia" , "Diocese in Eastern England" , "East Anglian city" , "Fenland city" , "Cathedral city in Cambridgeshire" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun and The Times.

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