2 Sep 2013
ECB's Cœuré: OMTs are not just words
FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - ECB board member Benoît Cœuré assured today in a speech delivered in Berlin that the central bank's OMT bond purchase program is "not just words" and that it is ready to be activated whenever necessary.
Cœuré stressed that the crisis in the Eurozone has subsided thanks to the announcement of the program one year ago. He also explained that even though they have not been activated yet "OMTs are necessary from a monetary policy perspective."
"They were effective in counteracting the destructive market turmoil in the summer of last year; and they are designed in a way that overcomes the key concerns associated with government bond purchases by the central bank," the ECB board member said.
Finally Cœuré, who also heads the Bank of France, pointed out that the OMT program would not be used automatically if a Eurozone country met all the program's criteria.
"For the Governing Council of the ECB, there is only one single deciding criterion and that is the maintenance of price stability in the euro area," he said.
Cœuré stressed that the crisis in the Eurozone has subsided thanks to the announcement of the program one year ago. He also explained that even though they have not been activated yet "OMTs are necessary from a monetary policy perspective."
"They were effective in counteracting the destructive market turmoil in the summer of last year; and they are designed in a way that overcomes the key concerns associated with government bond purchases by the central bank," the ECB board member said.
Finally Cœuré, who also heads the Bank of France, pointed out that the OMT program would not be used automatically if a Eurozone country met all the program's criteria.
"For the Governing Council of the ECB, there is only one single deciding criterion and that is the maintenance of price stability in the euro area," he said.