MNI: Greek election may be factor in ECB QE Decision

An article from MNI during the European day yesterday: Greek election may be factor in ECB QE Decision.

It quotes ” a senior central bank source”.

As usual from the good people at MNI it is VERY comprehensive, so here is my effort at a summary of the critical points made:

• Greece’s participation in any European Central Bank programme of quantitative easing is still being debated
• Options include excluding Greek bonds or limiting the amount the ECB would purchase are part of ongoing discussions

More:

• A senior Eurosystem source has told MNI that during the ECB’s non-policy meeting last week, a group of Council members wanted to impose “very strict rules in the bond buying plan that could essentially kick Greece out of the programme”
• The same source said that he felt that consensus is growing among the Council for an announcement of an agreement in principle on QE next week, but with the details or the activation of the programme to take place later, possibly in March

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I posted a good bit of news/views on Greece and on tthe ECB yesterday, here they are for more background:

• UBS chairman Weber: ECB’s Draghi likely to announce QE action on January 22
• ECB QE debate is reaching a climax
• ECB’s Visco warns of deflation risk, urges action on bond buying
• Bloomberg live testing a Greek drachma (POST EUR) listing
• “The risk of an accidental Grexit is real”
• Greek leftist party Syriza maintains lead in polls
• Greek central bank says deposit outflow situation under control

And more from the overnight:

• Majority on ECB council in favour of sovereign bond purchases
• European Stability Mechanism head says ECB can’t be lender of last resort for Eurozone govts
• ECB’s coming QE needs political support says French finance minister
• No need for QE says IFO’s Sinn
• Italian government may ask ECB to buy EUR 50bln in bad bank loans
• Greek finance ministry says its financing needs in March are acute
• Morgan Stanley now expects ECB sovereign QE
• ECB’s Makuch says wouldn’t prejudge when ECB would announce QE
• Makuch says ECB ready for sovereign QE if measures applied so far not sufficient
• ECB’s Noyer says QE needs clear limits based on current debt levels
• ECB’s Nowotny: Government bond purchases one option for ECB purchases
• Lorenzo Bini-Smaghi has some Greek debt to sell you
• Europe hasn’t taken the needed steps toward recovery says Bernanke