ECB says QE working, but government reforms needed – minutes

21-May (Reuters) — European Central Bank rate setters agreed last month the bank’s asset buying programme was working as intended but its full benefit would only be felt if governments implemented reforms, minutes of April’s monetary policy meeting showed.

ECB Governing Council members concluded risks about the scarcity of bond market supply linked to the quantitative easing scheme had been overstated, and there was no need to consider any change in the bank’s monetary stance.

“(But)… such a scenario was predicated on the full implementation of the policy measures taken by the Governing Council since mid-2014,” rate setters agreed after the first month of the asset purchases.

“Overall, members agreed that emphasis needed to be placed on a steady course of monetary policy.”

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