Against this background, how should one interpret the ECB’s interventions in euro area public debt markets through its Securities Markets Program? As we explained at various occasions, the SMP is purely founded on a monetary policy rationale.
When we observed that tension in some euro area sovereign debt markets were threatening a smooth functioning of the transmission of our monetary policy, we set up the SMP in order to support depth and liquidity in those market segments which had become dislocated. This was essential so that we can optimally pursue our task of guaranteeing price stability in the euro area.