Potentially a few things.
- The Bundesbank opposition is much less intense than the first time around. After two resignations in opposition to the first bond-buying program (SMP) , their replacements (Asmussen and Weidmann), are less resistant than their predecessors
- The EFSF/ESM is closer to fruition, which could allow the ECB to shift the bonds purchased to that body rather than carry them on their own books
- Having gotten the remit to regulate the banking industry, the ECB is feels it is more empowered to deal with the underlying problem of the sovereign debt/banking crisis link.
Bond buying is not the ECB’s only option, of course but it is the one that we are most familiar with. It didn’t work all that well the last time around, as the Greek debt restructuring should illustrate. Bond buying would be a time-buyer for the ECB, not a game changer…
