These measures, which we call “enhanced credit support”, essentially comprised five elements: we lengthened the maximum maturity of refinancing operations, we extended the list of eligible collateral, we provided liquidity in foreign currencies, we initiated a covered bond purchase programme and, first and foremost, we provided unlimited liquidity in all refinancing operations at a fixed rate.
Third, in early May this year renewed market tensions emerged in some segments of the euro area debt securities markets. As these tensions hampered the monetary policy transmission mechanism, we launched the Securities Markets Programme (SMP), intervening in the debt securities markets to support the proper transmission of monetary policy impulses to the wider economy and, ultimately, to the general price level.