Christine Lagarde has said the European Central Bank is likely to discuss speeding up the shrinkage of its balance sheet by ending the last of its bond purchases earlier than planned.
The ECB president’s comments at a hearing in the European parliament on Monday are the clearest sign to date that the bank is preparing to further tighten monetary policy — beyond its earlier interest rate rises — by reducing the amount of bonds it plans to buy next year.
Several of the more hawkish members of the ECB have been calling for these reinvestments to end, saying the extra monetary stimulus is inconsistent with efforts to tame inflation by raising rates. They also point out that the pandemic crisis that initially justified the purchases has clearly ended.