Today, a meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB) and a speech by regulator Christine Lagarde took place. The Central Bank kept the base rate at the current level of 0.0% and the deposit rate at -0.5%. Lagarde said the regulator will expand its anti-crisis program for the purchase of Eurobonds by €600 billion to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
The Central Bank also announced that it would leave interest rates unchanged, but at the same time increase the procurement period for debt securities of the Euroblock countries within the framework of this program for a year – until June 2021.
As a result, the amount issued by the bank under the Emergency Pandemic Bonds Purchase Financing Program (PEPP) will increase to 1.35 trillion euros, which means the bank will be able to buy up most of the debt of the eurozone countries this year.
In addition to the PEPP program, another ECB program for the purchase of assets worth about 20 billion euros is now operating.
