By Bill Thornhill
03 Mar 2021
The European Central Bank managed to buy more covered bonds on a net basis in February than it did January, but the asset class fell as a proportion of its total asset purchases. In the absence of fresh supply, it was forced to source paper in the secondary market, but at a markedly lower pace than before.
The ECB reported net covered bond purchases of €1.539bn in February compared to just €75m in January, taking the Covered Bond Purchase Programme (CBPP3) portfolio to €289.2bn. Taking January and February together, the ECB’s net purchases were down almost 80% compared to the €7bn it bought