Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem in an interview with Het Financieele Dagblad (a Dutch daily newspaper focused on business & finance) published on Saturday signaled he would not object to the European Central Bank (ECB) quantitative easing (QE):
- QE would give banks “more room to invest and finance companies”
- “That can definitely give the economy of the Eurozone a boost”
But …
- Dijsselbloem’s spokeswoman Simone Boitelle confirmed the newspaper’s quotes were accurate but said some context had been left out
- She said Dijsselbloem also said some of the reasons to undertake a QE program had been removed by the recent decline in the value of the euro against other major currencies
- In addition, she said the minister was not confident a QE program would have a large effect, with ECB interest rates already close to zero and yields on government bonds in many Eurozone countries at or near record lows
So, a yes, and no, from JD. Reuters
Rare footage of Dijsselbloem at an ECB karaoke night
