ECB Settled Record 22 Billion Euros in Weekly Bond Purchases

The European Central Bank spent a record amount on government bonds last week as it began buying Italian and Spanish securities to contain the debt crisis.

The Frankfurt-based ECB said today it settled purchases worth 22 billion euros ($31.7 billion) in the week through Aug. 12, more than the 15 billion-euro median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 19 economists and strategists. That also surpasses the 16.5 billion euros the ECB spent during the first week of its initial foray into Greek markets in May last year.