Asset purchase programmes

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The ECB’s Asset Purchase Programme (APP) is part of a package of non-standard monetary policy measures that also includes targeted longer-term refinancing operations, and which was initiated in mid-2014 to support the monetary policy transmission mechanism and provide the amount of policy accommodation needed to ensure price stability. It consists of the

• corporate sector purchase programme (CSPP)
• public sector purchase programme (PSPP)
• asset-backed securities purchase programme (ABSPP)
• third covered bond purchase programme (CBPP3)

APP net purchases, by programme

Between October 2014 and December 2018 the Eurosystem conducted net purchases of securities under one or more of the asset purchase programmes. During the net asset purchase phase, monthly purchase pace averaged:

• €60 billion from March 2015 to March 2016
• €80 billion from April 2016 to March 2017
• €60 billion from April 2017 to December 2017
• €30 billion from January 2018 to September 2018
• €15 billion from October 2018 to December 2018

Between January 2019 and October 2019, the Eurosystem fully reinvested the principal payments from maturing securities held in the APP portfolios. The Governing Council aimed to maintain the size of its cumulative net purchases under each constituent programme of the APP at their respective levels as at the end of December 2018.

On 12 September 2019 the ECB Governing Council decided that “net purchases will be restarted under the Governing Council’s asset purchase programme (APP) at a monthly pace of €20 billion as from 1 November 2019. The Governing Council expects them to run for as long as necessary to reinforce the accommodative impact of its policy rates, and to end shortly before it starts raising the key ECB interest rates.”

Note: The average monthly APP targets were first set by the ECB Governing Council at the beginning of the PSPP in March 2015. The additional envelope of EUR 120 bn decided by the Governing Council on 12 March 2020 has been linearized for illustration in this chart, while it will be implemented in full according to the established principles with additional flexibility.

In addition, reinvestments of the principal payments from maturing securities purchased under the APP will continue, in full, for an extended period of time past the date on which the Governing Council begins to raise the key ECB interest rates, and in any case for as long as necessary to maintain favourable liquidity conditions and an ample degree of monetary accommodation.

The table presents the Eurosystem holdings at the end of the month and a breakdown in the change of Eurosystem holdings.

Amortisation adjustment are made at the end of each quarter. The amortisation emerges from an accounting principle that implies that securities purchased at prices below face value have to be revalued upwards over time towards maturity, and revalued downwards over time, if purchased at prices above face value. STRIPS are accounted for at the end of each month (see Question 1.4 in the Q&A).

Weekly changes are reported below and in the Eurosystem weekly financial statement. Full historical data are available in the Statistics section under Data on daily liquidity conditions.

APP cumulative net purchases, by programme

The stock of Eurosystem APP bonds stood at €3128 billion at the end of April 2021. The cumulative net purchases are illustrated below.

APP redemptions

The Eurosystem adheres to the principle of market neutrality via smooth and flexible implementation. To this end, the Governing Council decided to distribute the reinvestment of principal redemptions through time to allow for a regular and balanced market presence.

The table presents estimated monthly redemptions for the next 12 months.

Corporate sector purchase programme

Between 8 June 2016 and 19 December 2018 the Eurosystem conducted net purchases of corporate sector bonds under the corporate sector purchase programme (CSPP). As of January 2019, the Eurosystem continued to reinvest the principal payments from maturing securities held in the CSPP portfolio. As of 1 November 2019 the Eurosystem restarted net purchases under the CSPP.

• Decision ECB/2016/16 of 1 June 2016
• Decision ECB/2017/4 of 11 January 2017 amending Decision ECB/2016/16
• Decision ECB/2017/13 of 18 May 2017 amending Decision ECB/2016/16
• Decision ECB/2020/18 of 24 March 2020 amending Decision ECB/2016/16
• Press release announcing the details of the corporate sector purchase programme
• Economic Bulletin Issue 5/2016 - The corporate bond market and the ECB’s corporate sector purchase programme
• Economic Bulletin Issue 4/2017 - The ECB’s corporate sector purchase programme: its implementation and impact
• Economic Bulletin Issue 3/2018 - The impact of the corporate sector purchase programme on corporate bond markets and the financing of euro area non-financial corporations
• CSPP – Questions & answers
• FAQ on CSPP and non-financial commercial paper

Securities purchased under the CSPP are made available for securities lending to support market liquidity and collateral availability in the market.

• List of corporate bond securities held under the CSPP/PEPP (end of week)

• History of cumulative purchase breakdowns under the CSPP
• Breakdown of CSPP portfolio by sector, rating and country of risk (semi-annual)

Public sector purchase programme

The Eurosystem conducted net purchases of public sector securities under the public sector purchase programme (PSPP) between 9 March 2015 and 19 December 2018. As of January 2019, the Eurosystem continued to reinvest the principal payments from maturing securities held in the PSPP portfolio. As of 1 November 2019 the Eurosystem restarted net purchases under the PSPP.

The securities covered by the PSPP include:

• nominal and inflation-linked central government bonds
• bonds issued by recognised agencies, regional and local governments, international organisations and multilateral development banks located in the euro area

Since December 2018 government bonds and recognised agencies make up around 90% of the total Eurosystem portfolio, while securities issued by international organisations and multilateral development banks account for around 10%. These proportions will continue to guide the net purchases.

• Implementation aspects of the PSPP
• Decision ECB/2015/10 of 4 March 2015
• Decision ECB/2015/33 of 5 November 2015 amending Decision ECB/2015/10
• Decision ECB/2015/48 of 16 December 2015 amending Decision ECB/2015/10
• Decision ECB/2016/8 of 18 April 2016 amending Decision ECB/2015/10
• Decision ECB/2017/1 of 11 January 2017 amending Decision ECB/2015/10
• PSPP - Questions & Answers

Securities purchased under the PSPP are made available for securities lending to support market liquidity and collateral availability in the market.

• PSPP weighted average maturities by jurisdictions (semi-annual)
• History of cumulative purchase breakdowns under the PSPP

Asset-backed securities purchase programme

Between 21 November 2014 and 19 December 2018 the Eurosystem conducted net purchases of asset-backed securities under the asset-backed securities purchase programme (ABSPP). As of January 2019, the Eurosystem continued to reinvest the principal payments from maturing securities held in the ABSPP portfolio. As of 1 November 2019 the Eurosystem restarted net purchases under the ABSPP.

• Decision ECB/2014/45 of 19 November 2014
• Decision ECB/2015/31 of 10 September 2015 amending Decision ECB/2014/45
• Decision ECB/2017/3 of 11 January 2017 amending Decision ECB/2014/45
• Decision ECB/2017/15 of 18 May 2017 amending Decision ECB/2014/45
• Technical annex 1 - details of the ABSPP
• Guiding principles (with examples) of Eurosystem-preferred eligible ABSs
• ABSPP - Questions & answers

• History of cumulative purchases breakdowns under the ABSPP
• Breakdown of ABSPP portfolio by rating, country of risk and collateral type (semi-annual)

Covered bond purchase programme 3

Between 20 October 2014 and 19 December 2018 the Eurosystem conducted net purchases of covered bonds under a third covered bond purchase programme (CBPP3). As of January 2019, the Eurosystem continued to reinvest the principal payments from maturing securities held in the CBPP3 portfolio. As of 1 November 2019 the Eurosystem restarted net purchases under the CBPP3.

• Decision ECB/2014/40 of 15 October 2014
• Decision ECB/2017/2 of 11 January 2017 amending Decision ECB/2014/40
• Decision ECB/2017/4 of 18 May 2017 amending Decision ECB/2014/40
• Technical annex 2 – details of the CBPP3
• CBPP3 - Questions & answers

Securities purchased under the covered bond purchase programmes (CBPP1, CBPP2 and CBPP3) are made available for securities lending by a number of Eurosystem central banks.

• History of cumulative purchases breakdowns under the CBPP3
• Breakdown of CBPP3 portfolio by rating and country of risk (semi-annual)

Terminated programmes

Securities Markets Programme

On 10 May 2010, the central banks of the Eurosystem started purchasing securities in the context of the Securities Markets Programme (SMP), with a view to addressing the severe tensions in certain market segments which had been hampering the monetary policy transmission mechanism. Following a Governing Council decision on 6 September 2012 to initiate outright monetary transactions, the SMP was terminated. The existing securities in the SMP portfolio will be held to maturity. For details see the press release: Technical features of Outright Monetary Transactions; as well as ECB decision of 14 May 2010 ECB/2010/5 and the press release of 10 May 2010: ECB decides on measures to address severe tensions in financial markets.

With a view to leaving liquidity conditions unaffected by the programme, the Eurosystem re-absorbed the liquidity provided through the SMP by means of weekly liquidity-absorbing operations until June 2014. On 5 June 2014, the ECB suspended the weekly fine-tuning operations sterilising the liquidity injected by the programme and the last operation was allotted on 10 June 2014.

• History of SMP holdings per issuer

Covered bond purchase programme

On 2 July 2009, the Eurosystem launched its first covered bond purchase programme (CBPP1). The programme ended, as planned, on 30 June 2010 when it reached a nominal amount of €60 billion. The Eurosystem intends to hold the assets bought under this programme until maturity.

For details, see ECB decision of 2 July 2009 ( ECB/2009/16 ) as well as the press releases Purchase programme for covered bonds (4 June 2009) and Covered bond purchase programme completed (30 June 2010).

Covered bond purchase programme 2

In November 2011, the Eurosystem launched a second covered bond purchase programme (CBPP2). The programme ended, as planned, on 31 October 2012 when it reached a nominal amount of €16.4 billion. The Eurosystem intends to hold the assets bought under this programme until maturity.

For details, see ECB decision ECB/2011/17 of 3 November 2011 and the press release ECB announces details of its new covered bond purchase programme (CBPP2) (3 November 2011).

• History of cumulative purchases breakdowns under the CBPP2