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The ECB Firepower
The idea of multiplying the EFSF/ESM firepower by using purchased government bonds as collateral to borrow from the ECB thus proceeding to buy more bonds, and so on, was firmly rejected by Mario Draghi at the press conference of 2 August after the ECB Governing Body meeting.
Draghi said that he was “a little surprised by the amount of attention that [the possibility of an EMS banking licence had] received in recent press coverage, and in public opinion”… “After all, I have said at least twice that the present design of the ESM does not allow this. It is not up to us to issue a banking licence – this is a matter for the governments. What is up to us to decide is whether the ESM – evenwith a banking licence – can actually be a suitable counterparty that is eligible for central bank financing. And I have said at least twice – at a press conference, and on other occasions – that the current design of the ESM does not allow it to be recognised as a suitable counterparty” (emphasis added).
Moreover, Draghi referred to “a legal opinion of the ECB on this, which was issued way back [on 17] March 2011”. The Press Conference report actually gave the link to that legal opinion.
Specifically, the ECB legal opinion argues that “Article 123 TFEU would not allow the ESM to become a counterparty of the Eurosystem under Article 18 of the Statute of the ESCB [European System of Central Banks]. On this latter element, the ECB recalls that the monetary financing prohibition in Article 123 TFEU … is one of the basic pillars of the legal architecture of EMU both for reasons of fiscal discipline of the Member States and in order to preserve the integrity of the single monetary policy as well as the independence of the ECB and the Eurosystem”.