“We have decided to launch a securities purchase programme, including those already existing for ABS and covered bonds, on the basis of which we will proceed to a monthly purchase combined which will amount to 60 billion euros and will be carried forward until September 2016, or in any case until the level of inflation approaches 2%”. This is the expected announcement on quantitative easing arrived today by Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, at the end of today's meeting of the Eurotower Governing Council, which also Eurozone interest rates confirmed.
"We will therefore begin to purchase euro-denominated securities on the secondary market", added Draghi, specifying that the ECB's new plan for the purchase of private and public securities envisages a risk sharing with national central banks only “at 20%” and that the ECB "will not be able to buy more than 25% of the issue, a threshold set for not being a blocking minority in shareholders' meetings". Furthermore, the ECB could also begin to acquire Greek government bonds starting from July, based on the payment deadlines for the bonds held through the old "Smp" programme.
Whether the quantitative easing program will actually last from March 2015 to September 2016 (and will not be extended to further boost inflation), the total value of the deal will be 1.140 billion euros, almost double what the average of analysts expected, which until yesterday was aiming for a total amount not exceeding 5-600 billion euros.
At the moment, the dynamics of inflation in the euro area are moving at levels "lower than expected", the president of the central bank once again noted, underlining that for this reason a "further adjustment" of monetary policy has become necessary.
Immediately after Draghi's announcement, there was a strong volatility on the secondary government bond market: BTPs quickly appreciated with yields falling to a peak, bringing the spread with the Bund to a minimum of 106,7. Just as quickly, a reverse movement and a rebound in yields of up to 1,84% for the Italian 135-year bond was recorded immediately afterwards. The reopening of the yield gap with Bunds reached a maximum of 128 basis points. The yield differential therefore returned to where it was in the minutes preceding the start of Mario Draghi's press conference, at 1,84 basis points, with a yield on Italian government bonds of XNUMX%.
On the equity side, however, Business Square it lengthens to +2,66% thanks to the performance of the banks (Bper +5,12% and Mps +4,82%). In the rest of the Eurozone, Frankfurt + 0,5% Paris + 0,9% Madrid e Lisbon +1,3%. L'euro it dropped below 1,15 to trade at 1,1474 on the greenback.
