06 September 2012

ECB unveils bond-buying plan, amid criticism from Germany's central bank

Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, has announced major plans aimed at preventing the break-up of the euro. The Bundesbank, issued a statement saying that they were still opposed to the move.

Draghi said that the ECB would start buying the sovereign bonds of eurozone countries in severe debt to underline what he described as the “irreversibility” of the euro. He said that the bond-buying scheme, to be known as “outright monetary transactions” (OMT), was within the ECB's mandate but admitted that one member of the institution's governing council – almost certainly Jens Weidmann of Germany's central bank – voted against the move. 

Weidmann, and other critics, believe that the plan extends the ECB's role too far into financing governments, threatens its independence and allows governments to avoid implementing important reforms. 

Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, issued a statement saying that they were still opposed to the move. “If the adopted bond-purchasing programme leads to Member States postponing the necessary reforms, this will further undermine confidence in the political leaders' crisis-resolution capabilities”, it said.   

But both Jörg Asmussen, a German former deputy finance minister on the ECB's governing council, and also the Chancellor, Angela Merkel, have lent tacit support to the plan – a softening stance with considerable implications. Merkel said the ECB had acted “within the framework of its mandate”.

Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the IMF, said that she “strongly welcomed” the plan. “The IMF stands ready to cooperate within our frameworks”, she said. 

José Angel Gurría, secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, said: “This is your bazooka. This is the muscle and the fire-power, which is quite awesome because effectively, theoretically, it’s unlimited.”

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