Asset purchase programmes

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The ECB’s asset purchase programme (APP) started as part of a package of non-standard monetary policy measures that also included 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.

The APP 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)

As part of the ECB’s monetary policy strategy review, concluded in July 2021, the Governing Council reiterated that the ECB’s primary monetary policy instrument is its set of policy rates. However, the Governing Council also recognised that, in the presence of an effective lower bound on policy rates, it will also employ other instruments, namely forward guidance, asset purchases and longer-term refinancing operations, as appropriate. This means that asset purchase programmes are now part of the ECB’s set of instruments for steering its monetary policy to ensure inflation stabilises at its 2% target in the medium term.

Over the years, the Governing Council has taken several decisions to recalibrate the pace of purchases and reinvestments. The most recent recalibration was on 15 June 2023, when the Governing Council announced that it would discontinue reinvestments under the APP as of July 2023. Going forward, the APP portfolio is expected to decrease as assets reach maturity unless the Governing Council decides, as appropriate, to use this instrument to steer the ECB’s monetary policy.

APP net purchases, by programme

The Eurosystem started to purchase securities under the asset purchase programmes of its APP in October 2014. The Governing Council recalibrated the overall net purchases under these programmes from time to time as follows:

• €60 billion of net purchases from March 2015 to March 2016;
• €80 billion of net purchases from April 2016 to March 2017;
• €60 billion of net purchases from April to December 2017;
• €30 billion of net purchases from January to September 2018;
• €15 billion of net purchases from October to December 2018;
• no net purchases, only reinvestments of redemptions, from January to October 2019;
• €20 billion of net purchases from November 2019 to March 2022 (a temporary €120 billion envelope of net asset purchases was added from March to December 2020);
• €40 billion of net purchases in April 2022;
• €30 billion of net purchases in May 2022;
• €20 billion of net purchases in June 2022;
• no net purchases, but full reinvestments of redemptions between July 2022 and February 2023;
• no net purchases and only partial reinvestments of redemptions from March 2023 to June 2023;
• no reinvestments of redemptions as of July 2023.

On 9 June 2022 the Governing Council decided to discontinue net asset purchases under the APP as of 1 July 2022, but to continue reinvesting, in full, the principal payments from maturing securities purchased under the APP. On 15 December 2022 the Governing Council decided that from the beginning of March 2023, the APP portfolio will decline at a measured and predictable pace, as the Eurosystem will not reinvest all of the principal payments from maturing securities. The decline will amount to €15 billion per month on average until the end of the second quarter of 2023 and its subsequent pace will be determined over time. On 2 February 2023 the Governing Council decided on the detailed modalities for reducing the Eurosystem holdings of securities under the APP through the partial reinvestment of the principal payments from maturing securities. On 4 May 2023 the Governing Council announced it expected to discontinue reinvestments under the APP as of July 2023. On 15 June 2023 the Governing Council confirmed that reinvestments under the APP would be discontinued as of July 2023.

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

Amortisation adjustments 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 2.4 in the Q&A).

• History of cumulative purchase breakdowns under the APP last update: 5 ta' Settembru 2023

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 €3323 billion at the end of August 2023. The cumulative net purchases are illustrated below.

APP redemptions

During the reinvestment phase of the APP, when reinvesting APP redemptions, the Eurosystem in general adhered to the principle of market neutrality via a smooth and flexible implementation. More specifically, for corporate bond reinvestments, from October 2022 the Eurosystem tilted these purchases towards issuers with a better climate performance.

Additionally, on 2 February 2023 the Governing Council decided that during the phase of partial reinvestment the Eurosystem’s corporate bond purchases would be tilted more strongly towards issuers with a better climate performance.

To allow for a regular and balanced market presence the Governing Council decided to distribute the reinvestment of principal redemptions through time.

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

• History of APP redemptions last update: 5 ta' Settembru 2023

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). From January to October 2019 the Eurosystem only reinvested the principal payments from maturing securities held in the CSPP portfolio. Purchases of securities under the CSPP were then restarted on 1 November 2019 and continued until the end of June 2022. Between July 2022 and February 2023 the Eurosystem aimed to fully reinvest the principal payments from maturing securities. From March 2023 the Eurosystem only partially reinvested the principal payments from maturing CSPP securities. The Eurosystem discontinued all CSPP reinvestments as of July 2023.

As announced in July 2022, the Eurosystem aims to gradually decarbonise its corporate bond holdings, on a path aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement. To that end, the Eurosystem tilted these purchases under the APP towards issuers with a better climate performance through the reinvestment of the sizeable redemptions.

• 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
• Press release of 19 September 2022 – ECB takes further steps to incorporate climate change into its monetary policy operations
• FAQ on purchases of corporate sector debt instruments under the Eurosystem’s monetary policy purchase programmes
• FAQ on non-financial commercial paper purchases under the Eurosystem’s monetary policy purchase programmes
• FAQ on incorporating climate change considerations into corporate bond purchases
• Climate-related financial disclosures of the Eurosystem’s corporate sector holdings for monetary policy purposes

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) last update: 26 ta' Settembru 2023

• History of cumulative purchase breakdowns under the CSPP last update: 5 ta' Settembru 2023
• Breakdown of CSPP portfolio by sector, rating and country of risk (semi-annual) last update: 5 ta' Mejju 2023

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. From January to October 2019 the Eurosystem only reinvested the principal payments from maturing securities held in the PSPP portfolio. Purchases of securities under the PSPP were then restarted on 1 November 2019 and continued until the end of June 2022. Between July 2022 and February 2023 the Eurosystem aimed to fully reinvest the principal payments from maturing securities. From March 2023 the Eurosystem only partially reinvested the principal payments from maturing PSPP securities. As of July 2023 the Eurosystem discontinued all PSPP reinvestments.

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%.

• 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
• FAQ on the public sector purchase programme

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 last update: 16 April 2021
• History of cumulative purchase breakdowns under the PSPP last update: 5 ta' Settembru 2023

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). From January to October 2019 the Eurosystem only reinvested the principal payments from maturing securities held in the ABSPP portfolio. Purchases of securities under the ABSPP were restarted on 1 November 2019 and continued until the end of June 2022. Between July 2022 and February 2023, the Eurosystem aimed to fully reinvest the principal payments from maturing securities. From March 2023 the Eurosystem only partially reinvested the principal payments from maturing asset-backed securities. As of July 2023 the Eurosystem discontinued all reinvestments of asset-backed securities.

• 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
• FAQ on the asset-backed securities purchase programme

• History of cumulative purchases breakdowns under the ABSPP last update: 5 ta' Settembru 2023
• Breakdown of ABSPP portfolio by rating, country of risk and collateral type (semi-annual) last update: 5 ta' Mejju 2023

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). From January to October 2019 the Eurosystem only reinvested the principal payments from maturing securities held in the CBPP3 portfolio. Purchases of securities under the CBPP3 were restarted on 1 November 2019 and continued until the end of June 2022. Between July 2022 and February 2023 the Eurosystem aimed to fully reinvest the principal payments from maturing securities. From March 2023 the Eurosystem only partially reinvested the principal payments from maturing CBPP3 securities. As of July 2023 the Eurosystem discontinued all CBPP3 reinvestments.

• 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
• FAQ on covered bond purchases under the Eurosystem’s monetary policy purchase programmes

Securities purchased under CBPP3 are made available for securities lending by a number of Eurosystem central banks.

• History of cumulative purchases breakdowns under the CBPP3 last update: 5 ta' Settembru 2023
• Breakdown of CBPP3 portfolio by rating and country of risk (semi-annual) last update: 5 ta' Mejju 2023

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 more information 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 last update: 23 ta' Frar 2023

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 held the assets bought under this programme until maturity.

For further 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 held 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