At its last meeting, the Governing Council announced the details of a programme to purchase around € billion of euro-denominated covered bonds issued in the euro area, which will help an important market, and again will be of benefit to banks and support credit provision.
The European covered bond market is currently stalled and the programme will help stimulate the market, as it increases demand for the instruments in  BIS Review 72/2009  3  question, making new issuance attractive for banks. Covered bonds form an important funding channel for the main Irish banks. What does the future hold for banking systems generally?