ECB Still Hasn’t Activated Bond-Purchasing Firepower as First Line of Defense in Market
- ‘Flexibility’ on PEPP reinvestments isn’t yet operational
- Another Governing Council meeting took place on Wednesday
The European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt.
Photographer: Alex Kraus/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The European Central Bank still hasn’t activated the bond-purchasing firepower signed off by policy makers more than a week ago as their first line of defense in a crisis, according to people familiar with the matter.
Some officials worry that until the decision to “apply flexibility” to reinvestments from its pandemic emergency program becomes operational, debt markets remain vulnerable to investor speculation that could then spiral out of control, the people said. They declined to be identified because such discussions are private.