Economics
ECB Boosts Crisis Support With Caveat on Not Using It All Up
- 500 billion euros and nine months added to bond-buying program
- More long-term loans for banks, lowest rate window extended
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The European Central Bank escalated its campaign to shield the euro zone from a possible double-dip recession with another burst of monetary stimulus, while cautioning that it may not deploy all the new firepower.
The additional envelope of 500 billion euros ($607 billion) in bond-buying approved at the meeting on Thursday “need not be used in full,” ECB President Christine Lagarde said in a news conference, “if favorable financing conditions can be maintained.”