ECB Is Said to Review Corporate-Bond Plan as Next QE Step Nears

Private debt may make up larger share of QE purchases in 2018
Some policy makers skeptical over effectiveness of the program

An illuminated euro currency symbol is projected on to the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters during the Luminale light festival in Frankfurt, Germany, on Thursday, March 17, 2016. European government bonds climbed after the Federal Reserve signaled that it will raise interest rates at a slower pace than previously estimated, bolstering demand for fixed-income securities around the world.Photographer: Martin Leissl

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By Jana Randow and Carolynn Look

November 22, 2017 at 11:16 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

The European Central Bank is assessing a key element of its stimulus plan that looks likely to gain in prominence next year.

The ECB is reviewing its corporate-bond buying program, according to euro-area officials familiar with the matter. The study by the Market Operations Committee is largely looking at the effectiveness of the strategy, which has spent 126 billion euros ($148 billion) so far, and how it influences the supply of credit to the euro-area economy.