ECB’s Weidmann: ECB should fix date to end bond purchases - RTRS

The ECB Governing Council member and Bundesbank Chairman Jens Weidmann, in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo over the weekend, noted that the ECB should set a date to end its asset-buying program.

Key Quotes via Reuters:

”The prospects for the evolution of prices correspond to a return of inflation to a level sufficient to maintain the stability of prices.

For this reason, in my opinion, it would be justifiable to put a clear end to the buying of debt bonds by establishing a concrete date (for ending the program),” 

Weidmann also called for banks to reduce non-performing loans, saying that these bad assets were impeding plans to establish a bloc-wide deposit insurance program, known as the European deposit insurance scheme (EDIS).

“(The EDIS) could help to strengthen financial security in the eurozone. This without a doubt would be a good thing. The problem is, however, many banks carry substantial amounts of bad debt.”