PARIS (MNI) – The following statement was released by the European
Central Bank on Thursday regarding measures to preserve collateral
availability:
“On 6 September 2012 the Governing Council of the European Central
Bank (ECB) decided on additional measures to preserve collateral
availability for counterparties in order to maintain their access to the
Eurosystems liquidity-providing operations.
Change in eligibility for central government assets
The Governing Council of the ECB has decided to suspend the
application of the minimum credit rating threshold in the collateral
eligibility requirements for the purposes of the Eurosystems credit
operations in the case of marketable debt instruments issued or
guaranteed by the central government, and credit claims granted to or
guaranteed by the central government, of countries that are eligible for
Outright Monetary Transactions or are under an EU-IMF programme and
comply with the attached conditionality as assessed by the Governing
Council.
The suspension applies to all outstanding and new assets of the
type described above.
The decision on the collateral eligibility of bonds issued or
guaranteed by the Greek government taken by the Governing Council on 18
July 2012 is still applicable (Decision ECB/2012/14).
Expansion of the list of assets eligible to be used as collateral
The Governing Council of the ECB has also decided that marketable
debt instruments denominated in currencies other than the euro, namely
the US dollar, the pound sterling and the Japanese yen, and issued and
held in the euro area, are eligible to be used as collateral in
Eurosystem credit operations until further notice. This measure
reintroduces a similar decision that was applicable between October 2008
and December 2010, with appropriate valuation markdowns. These measures
will come into force with the relevant legal acts.”
–Paris newsroom, +33142715540; jduffy@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: M$$EC$,MT$$$$,M$$CR$,M$X$$$]