BIS central bankers’ speeches  5  The most it can do is buy time. Indeed, one of the Delors Committee’s insights remains as valid as it ever was. In performing its task, monetary policy is bound by conditions that it cannot create itself. Monetary policy has already helped substantially in preventing a further escalation of the crisis.
However, this has taken it a long way into uncharted – and dangerous – territory. It’s no secret that I am critical of the ECB’s government bond purchase programmes in particular. If Eurosystem central banks buy government bonds issued by countries with poor credit ratings, this will distribute the risks of unsound fiscal policy among all the euro-area states.