Economics

Did ECB Accidentally Tighten Policy? Analysts Won’t Let it Drop

  • Market abuzz with discussion on tiering system, loan take-up
  • ECB may need to take extra steps to guide interest rates lower

Outside the European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany.

Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg
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Almost two weeks after the European Central Bank announced new stimulus measures, economists are still debating whether the plan will work the way it’s meant to.

Their chief concern is the central bank’s so-called tiering system. While it’s designed to ease the burden of negative interest rates on banks, some analysts fear it may inadvertently tighten monetary policy at the same time.