ECB Reported to Have Purchased Italian Bonds

The European Central Bank bought Italian covered bonds as it returned to the market for a second day under its asset purchase program, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Debt issued by Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP) was included in the purchases, according to one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The ECB bought short-dated French notes from Societe Generale SA and BNP Paribas SA as well as Spanish securities from other lenders yesterday.

The ECB entered the 2.6 trillion-euro ($3.3 trillion) covered bond market after President Mario Draghi unveiled plans last month to bolster companies’ and households’ access to financing. Draghi, who also included asset-backed securities in the program, intends to expand the bank’s balance sheet by as much as 1 trillion euros to stave off deflation in the euro area.

Bloomberg

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