The European Central Bank said it will offer more cheap loans to banks and keep interest rates at record-lows for longer as a weakening economyderailed its plan to withdraw stimulus.
Becoming the latest central bank to capitulate to faltering demand, President Mario Draghi and fellow policy makers will offer banks the first round of long-term loans since 2016, starting in September. Officials left their key interest rates unchanged, and said they’ll stay at current levels through the end of the year, several months later than previously anticipated.
The decision came just three months after the ECB halted its crisis-era bond-buying program and signaled it may raise interest rates later this year. The change of gears reflects slowdowns in large economies such as Germany and Italy amid the global rise of protectionism and populism.
Draghi is set to reinforce the sense of concern when he unveils new forecasts at a press conference at 2:30 p.m. in Frankfurt. Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday that the latest projections show extensive downgrades for inflation and economic expansion in 2019 with a pickup anticipated toward the end of the year.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...oans-to-banks-as-slowdown-derails-policy-exit
Becoming the latest central bank to capitulate to faltering demand, President Mario Draghi and fellow policy makers will offer banks the first round of long-term loans since 2016, starting in September. Officials left their key interest rates unchanged, and said they’ll stay at current levels through the end of the year, several months later than previously anticipated.
The decision came just three months after the ECB halted its crisis-era bond-buying program and signaled it may raise interest rates later this year. The change of gears reflects slowdowns in large economies such as Germany and Italy amid the global rise of protectionism and populism.
Draghi is set to reinforce the sense of concern when he unveils new forecasts at a press conference at 2:30 p.m. in Frankfurt. Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday that the latest projections show extensive downgrades for inflation and economic expansion in 2019 with a pickup anticipated toward the end of the year.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...oans-to-banks-as-slowdown-derails-policy-exit
