ECB’s Bini Smaghi: ECB and U.S. have had different monetary policy in crisis, but results similar

ECB’s Bini Smaghi opines that although the ECB and U.S. authorities have employed somewhat different monetary policies, they have ended up with similar results.

Talking at a conference in Berlin the official said “On monetary policy we have partly different approaches with respect to the US. But in the end the results are quite similar if you look at interest rates, if you look at the size of the liquidity injection in the economy.”

Regarding the EU Stability Pact, Bini Smaghi says it is important that the procedure is maintained and that countries are monitored.

He says all new forecasts call for the economy bottoming out late 2009, with fledgling recovery in early 2010. Bini Smaghi warns however that “Of course there is so much uncertainty, that it is very difficult at this stage to work out precise numbers.”