Policy tracker ECB

Deviations from the capital key - Public sector purchase programme

Policy changes: 1 March 2020 vs 2 February 2021

 

1 March 2020

5 February 2021

Interest rates

Main refinancing operations 0% 0%
Marginal lending facility 0.25% 0.25%
Deposit facility -0.50% -0.50%

Asset purchase programmes

Size & Time frame APP at €20bn per month for as long as necessary (decided Sep 2019, effective from Nov 2019) Original APP + additional envelopes €120bn APP until end-2020 + €1.85tn PEPP until at least March 2022
Terms of purchase
Capital key Capital key guides purchases in APP Capital Key remains for APP and PEPP but more flexibility for PEPP
Issuer limit Issuer limit at 33% of any country’s eligible bonds Issuer limit does not apply to PEPP
Eligibility Eligibility in line with rating requirements Greek government bonds included in PEPP but not in APP (PSPP). No catch-up purchases of these securities. Non-financial commercial papers (if sufficient credit quality) eligible for CSPP. Easing of collateral standards by adjusting main risk parameters of collateral framework.
Maturities Maturities for PEPP extended, new range is from 70days to 30 years and 364 days. For private securities the maturity range is at 28 days up to 30 years and 364 days. No maturity restrictions of ABSPP and CBPP3-eligible securities
Reinvestments Apply to APP Apply to APP until after rates start to rise, apply to PEPP until at least end-2023

Open market operations

Additional LTROs Conducted as fixed rate tender procedures with full allotment, rate fixed at avg of deposit rate. Operations mature June 2020
TLTRO III Favourable conditions apply between June 2020-June 2022
Terms of purchase
Interest rate As low as avg rate on deposit facility 50bp below avg refi rate and even lower (up to 50bp below avg deposit rate) for those who maintain levels of credit provision
Borrowing allowance 30% of stock of eligible loans Raised to 55%
Lending performance threshold 2.5% Reduced to 0% (assessment period set to 1 March 2020)

 

For banks that do not reach the threshold different TLRO III rates apply (25bp below avg refi rate) and lending threshold reduced to 1.15%

Limit on stock of eligible loans that can be borrowed in each operation 10% No limit
Repayment options Early repayment option available after two years from settlement Early repayment option available after one year from settlement starting in September 2021
PELTROs From May 20202: New series of non-targeted pandemic emergency longer-term refinancing operations, conducted as fixed rate tender procedures with full allotment, rate fixed at 25bp below refi rate. Operations mature in staggered sequence between July-September 2021. Four additional PELTROs in 2021.

 

 

Collateral framework for liquidity facilities (LTROs and TLTROs)

Bank funding against loans to corporates and households Guided by additional credit claims (ACC) framwork Expanded ACC framework: accepts collateral and new debtor types covered by Covid-19 government guarantees ; enlarges scope of acceptable credit assessment systems (e.g. supervisor-approved banks’ own assessments); reduces ACC loan level reporting requirements to speed up process. In place until June 2022
Non-uniform minimum size threshold for domestic credit claims EUR 25,000 Lowered to EUR 0
Concentration limit for unsecured bank bonds 2.5% Raised to 10%
Greek Government Bonds Waiver to accept as collateral
Risk tolerance level in credit operations (haircut parameters) Reduction of collateral valuation haircuts by fixed factor of 20%. Further haircut reduction of around 20% for on-marketable assets.
Rating measures Eligibility ‘freeze’, rating floor imposed at CQS5 (BB)
Rating measures (ABS) Eligibility ‘freeze’, rating floor imposed at CQS4 (BB+)

Other liquidity facilities

Bilateral swap/repo lines Standing swap arrangements with the UK, Canada, Japan, US, Switzerland and China. Expired swap arrangements with Denmark, Sweden, Latvia, Hungary and Poland. Additions of temporary swap arrangements until March 2022 with Denmark (reactivated, amount doubled to €24bn), Croatia (€2bn) and Bulgaria (€2bn). New repo lines set up with Romania (€4.5bn), Albania (€400m), Serbia (€1bn), Hungary (€4bn), North Macedonia (€400m) and San Marino (€100m).

 

Repo facilities New Eurosystem repo facility EUREP as a precautionary backstop to address pandemic-related euro liquidity to non-Eurosystem central banks. Available until June 2021

Supervision

  Level of capital defined by Pillar 2 Guidance and Liquidity Coverage Ratio Relaxation of conditions: banks allowed to operate temporarily below level of capital defined by P2G and LCR
  Capital instruments need to qualify as Common Equity Tier 1 capital This has been lifted; banks now allowed to partially use capital instruments that do not qualify as CET1 eg Additional Tier 1 or Tier 2 instruments.

 

 


Relevant links:

2 March: Statement by ECB President

12 March: Monetary policy decisions

12 March: Supervisory policy decisions

18 March: ECB launches Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme

25 March: ECB lifts limits on PEPP

20 March – 22 April : ECB (re) activates swap lines with Denmark, Croatia and Bulgaria

7 April: ECB announces package of temporary collateral easing measures

22 April: ECB takes steps to mitigate impact of possible rating downgrades on collateral availability

30 April: ECB eases conditions on TLTRO III, introduces PELTROs

4 June: ECB expands and extends pandemic emergency purchase programme, introduces reinvestments

25 June: ECB introduces new Eurosystem repo facility to provide euro liquidity to non-euro area central banks

17 July: ECB sets up repo lines to provide euro liquidity with Bank of Albania and National Bank of Serbia

23 July: ECB sets up repo line with Magyar Nemzeti Bank to provide euro liquidity

18 August: ECB sets up repo lines with National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia and the Central Bank of the Republic of San Marino to provide euro liquidity

22 September: ECB to accept sustainability-linked bonds as collateral from January 2021

10 December: ECB prolongs support via targeted lending operations for banks that lend to the real economy

10 December: ECB extends pandemic emergency longer-term refinancing operations

10 December: ECB extends and increases PEPP, recalibrates TLTROs, extends collateral easing measures and introduces new PELTROs

4 February: ECB extends bilateral euro liquidity lines with non-euro area central banks

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