ECB Keeps Rate at 1% as Focus Turns to Role in Greek Swap

The European Central Bank kept interest rates on hold and altered its assessment of risks to the economic outlook as investors focus on the bank’s possible role in helping Greece avoid default.

“The economic outlook remains subject to high uncertainty and downside risks,” ECB President Mario Draghi said at a press conference in Frankfurt today after policy makers left the benchmark interest rate at a record low of 1 percent, as predicted by 55 of 57 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Last month, he said the outlook was subject to “substantial” downside risks.