ECB: Further policy easing will follow – ABN Amro

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced TLTRO rate cuts, boosted QE while left deposit rate unchanged, Nick Kounis from ABN Amro reports. EUR/USD is trading at 1.1166 amid volatility.

Key quotes

“The ECB announced it will step up its net asset purchases by a cumulative EUR 120bn until the end of the year.”

“The ECB loosened the conditions on its TLTRO programme. The lending rate can be as low as 25bp below the deposit rate, so effectively a 25bp cut.”

“The main surprise was that the ECB left its deposit rate unchanged at -0.5%.”

“We think that cutting the TLTRO rate and loosening the other programme conditions will be much more supportive of easier bank lending conditions than reducing the deposit rate.”

“The overall scale of the package, given that the economy is likely heading for recession is modest. As such, we think that further policy easing will follow.”