ECB's next move should be a set of measures going beyond QE: Hansson

The European Central Bank’s next move should be a set of measures that go beyond a decision on asset purchases, Governing Council member Ardo Hansson said in a Reuters interview.

“What I would advocate is a somewhat broader recalibration,” Hansson, considered a moderate policy hawk, said. “We have a range of instruments already under implementation. And maybe a few that we could in addition bring to the table for consideration.” 

“There’s various refinancing operations and the details of forward guidance could be more precise about interest rates,” he said. Another option worth debating, Hansson said, would be making the ECB’s guidance symmetrical, not only stipulating the bank’s willingness to increase monthly asset buys if the outlook changes, but also to cut them. 

The ECB could also make better use of its reinvestment policy as the bank is already spending large amounts from maturing debt, yet it says too little about these buys.