The relative size of the programme, representing just 1.9% of the euro area GDP against 13.7% of GDP that has been bought by the Bank of England or the 11.4% purchased by the Federal Reserve, makes it easier to be fully sterilised.
Furthermore, at the recent October 6 meeting, the ECB decided to conduct two further oneyear long-term refinancing operations; to continue to apply fixed rate full allotment procedures in all monetary policy liquidity-providing operations for as long as needed and at least until the middle of 2012; and to conduct a second Covered Bond Purchase Programme (CBPP2) with an intended purchase amount of EUR 40 billion and over a period of one year, which started last month.