Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- European Central Bank policy makers signaled they are in no rush to step up their response to the credit crisis by purchasing securities and downplayed concerns about the fiscal health of some euro-region nations.

“We have already introduced a number of unconventional measures,” ECB governing council member Axel Weber said in Rome today, echoing comments by President Jean-Claude Trichet, Italy’s Mario Draghi and France’s Christian Noyer. Trichet said “no decision has been taken yet on top of the non-standard action” announced so far.

The ECB is coming under pressure to follow the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England’s policy to buy government or corporate debt as Europe faces its worst recession in decades. Investors are also increasing bets that the price of banking bailouts and stimulus packages will strain public finances and hobble governments’ ability to meet bond payments.

Ireland yesterday led a surge in the perceived risk of holding European government bonds, with credit-default swaps on Irish debt rising 7.5 points to a record 355. Trichet indicated that investors’ concerns may be overdone, saying that market expectations go “up and down.”

“I would say that the euro area is not in question in any respect,” Trichet said after meeting officials from the Group of Seven nations. “I have absolutely full confidence that the governments at stake will continue to take the appropriate decisions to have sustainable policy, particularly on the fiscal side.”

ECB officials have so far resisted pledging to buy securities to increase the supply of money in the economy and grease credit markets. Unlike the U.S. and U.K., which have indemnified their central banks against any default risk, it is also unclear how the ECB could be covered.

Working Well

While not ruling out additional policies if the financial crisis worsened, Noyer said today “you cannot say the measures are not working, they seem to work well.”

ECB policy makers have signaled more willingness to cut their benchmark rate at least once more from the current 2 percent, though German officials emphasized that inflation risks persist. Weber said “we can’t rule out that we will continue to use the room to maneuver on interest rates.”

German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said that unprecedented liquidity injections may stoke inflation pressures in the future. Earlier, ECB colleague Juergen Stark said in Tutzing, Germany that the central bank is prepared to act “but always with appropriate caution.”

Less Aggressive

The ECB has also been less aggressive than the Fed and the Bank of England in reducing rates. The Fed has cut the benchmark rate to close to zero, while the Bank of England has lobbed off 400 basis points since October, bringing the key rate to 1 percent.

While the ECB lowered its benchmark down to 2 percent from 4.25 percent in the past five months, it’s still the highest among the G-7 group of nations.

The ECB last year more than doubled the amount of funds offered in its longer-term refinancing operations and increased the provision of dollars and Swiss francs. In addition, it loosened its rules on the collateral it accepts when making loans.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gabi Thesing in Rome gthesing@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 14, 2009 12:19 EST