(Bloomberg) -- The European Central Bank will take further steps to support the region’s economy if trade or other risks threaten the economic outlook, Governing Council member Ignazio Visco said.
“If things somehow do not go as predicted, we will certainly act, there is no question,” Visco, who is also Bank of Italy Governor, said Sunday in an interview with Bloomberg Television on the sidelines of the meeting of finance and central bank chiefs from the Group of 20 in Fukuoka, Japan. “I think that the monetary stance is very favorable, there is no question,” he said.
Visco’s comments dovetail with remarks by ECB President Mario Draghi following the central bank’s policy meeting in Vilnius this month. Officials there raised the prospect of restarting quantitative easing bond purchases or cutting interest rates further, even as they rolled out a fresh round of long-term loans known as TLTROs.
“TLTROs are there to help financing banks in case of difficulty in raising funds, Visco said. “I don’t think that this is a tool that we are going to use permanently to have a more expansionary stance -- it’s part of the expansionary stance that we have now.”
Visco commented on the challenges facing Italy, as the populist government in Rome is set for a new confrontation with the European Commission that has recommended a disciplinary procedure against the nation for its failure to rein in state debt.
“Public debt we have to recognize is rather high, especially in relation to GDP which is the main concern,” he said. “The main concern is the revival of growth in the country, more than maintaining prudent fiscal policies which I think can be achieved.”
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
POPULAR