ECB: New series of measures announced - ING

According to Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING, the ECB today surprised almost everyone by announcing a new series of measures, trying to avoid an unwarranted tightening of its monetary stance.

Key Quotes

“What did the ECB announce?

• A change in forward guidance on rates to, “interest rates to remain at their present levels at least through the end of 2019”, from “through the summer of 2019”.
• A new targeted longer-term refinancing operation (TLTRO) with a quarterly frequency from September 2019 until March 2021, at the refi rate and no longer at the deposit rate.”

“What does this mean?

The press conference will hopefully shed some more light on the reasons for the ECB’s decision. Or better, the timing of the ECB’s decision. The measures, as such, are not a major surprise but the moment of the announcement is.”