Draghi to deliver bond plan at ECB meeting
European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi faces the most decisive moment of his presidency today when he tries to heal divisions among policymakers and deliver on his promise to save the euro.
Investors want to hear how the ECB will start a new bond-buying programme to help bring down the borrowing costs of Spain and Italy, after disagreements between bank policymakers over the plan were played out in public last week.
Renewed ECB intervention in the Eurozone’s bond markets is crucial for buying governments time to come up with a longer-term response to the bloc’s debt crisis.
The ECB’s Governing Council began meeting at 7am this morning to discuss the new bond plan.
Investors are looking for Draghi to flesh out enough details of the plan to back up his promise on 26 July to do “whatever it takes” to preserve the euro when he speaks after the Governing Council meets.
“Expectations are extremely high. If the ECB does not deliver, we will get into another bad patch,” said Gilles Moec, senior European economist at Deutsche Bank.
Spanish and Italian government bond yields have fallen significantly since Draghi said on 2 August that the ECB would buy bonds issued by Madrid and Rome.