YEREVAN, October 2. /ARKA/. The governing council of the European Central Bank (ECB) decided on Thursday to keep its key interest rates unchanged, vestifinance.ru reported citing the bank.
Lending and deposit facilities will remain unchanged at 0.05 percent, 0.30 percent and minus 0.20 percent respectively, according to statement from the ECB.
Speaking at a press conference following the ECB’s monetary policy decision, Draghi revealed that it would start buying covered bonds from the middle of October, and asset-backed securities (ABS) at some point in the fourth quarter.
Asset-backed securities are pooled loans put together by banks which have been made to companies or consumers, including mortgages and credit cards. The bundled loans are then sold on to other banks but also to insurers, pension funds.
These measures – which are the latest in a host of stimulus measures launched by the ECB – will last for at least two years, and are designed to have a “sizeable” impact the ECB’s balance sheet, Draghi said. –0–
