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Open market operations serve to steer short-term interest rates, to manage the liquidity situation in the money market, and to signal the stance of monetary policy in the euro area.
Normally, the Eurosystem conducts weekly and three-month liquidity-providing operations. Currently, this range is extended by euro operations with a maturity of (around) one month and six months, as well as operations providing US dollar. In addition, the Eurosystem has launched a programme for purchasing euro-denominated covered bonds as well as public and private debt securities.
For details on the ECB's non-standard measures, including a comparison with the Fed and the Bank of Japan, see IV. The ECB’s response to the financial crisis of the President's speech "The ECB’s enhanced credit support" (13 July 2009).
| Outstanding amount * | |
|---|---|
| € mil. | 61,109 |
| Date | 01 Sep. 2010 |
| * Settled amount as of given date | |
Between 6 July 2009 and end-June 2010 the Eurosystem central banks will purchase eligible covered bonds with a
targeted nominal amount of EUR 60 billion.
For details, see
ECB decision of 2 July 2009 (ECB/2009/16) and the
press release
"Purchase programme for covered bonds" (4 June 2009).
In the context of the ECB’s liquidity analysis, the liquidity provided under this programme will be displayed under open market operations. For details, see Liquidity analysis and the Weekly Financial Statement.
