European Central Bank (ECB) purchased Greek bonds of a nominal value of 2.8 billion euros in the August-September period, in the framework of its pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP), raising its portfolio in Greek bonds to 32.18 billion euros.
The PEPP programme is scheduled to be completed in March 2022. The ECB is examining ways to continue buying Greek bonds despite the fact the Greek debt has not yet been rated as investment grade by international credit rating agencies.
The bank purchased state bonds worth 1.365 trillion euros through the PEPP programme by September 21st, nearly the 1.85 trillion euro ceiling of the programme. ECB’s board recently decided to slow down the pace of its bond purchases.
The large volume of Greek bonds held by ECB allows the Greek state to continue issuing new bonds in 2022 in order to ensure ample volume for trading in the secondary bond market.
SOURCE: AMNA
