Impact on interest rates: logic behind real interest rates While the QQE has a number of transmission channels, what is important above all is to influence real interest rates. Real interest rates are calculated by subtracting expected rates of inflation from nominal interest rates.
It is important to avoid any doubts about the effectiveness of the surveillance process and the soundness of the fiscal policies of the single currency area in the long run, as such doubts would ultimately lead to higher risk premia and higher real interest rates in the euro area.