They are also clearly boosting growth in the euro area because its member states are net importers of oil on balance. The risk of a deflationary spiral driven by falling prices and wages, which the Bundesbank and other institutions already considered to be low even before the start of the purchase programme, is now even lower.
However, the risks associated with the purchase programme and those which result from the increasing fusion of the boundaries between monetary and fiscal policy, together with potential risks to financial stability that could result from a very loose monetary policy are, in our view, higher.