As expected, there were no changes to either the ECB's rates or purchase program, or its €750BN expanded QE, aka the pandemic emergency purchase programme, with the ECB reiterating its willingness to do more, and clarifying that "the Governing Council will conduct net asset purchases under the PEPP until it judges that the coronavirus crisis phase is over, but in any case until the end of this year."

The central bank also said the asset purchase programme plan will continue at a monthly pace of €20BN, together with the purchases under the additional €120BN temporary envelope until the end of the year, adding that "the Governing Council continues to expect monthly net asset purchases under the APP to run for as long as necessary to reinforce the accommodative impact of its policy rates, and to end shortly before it starts raising the key ECB interest rates."

Separately, the ECB made the conditions for the previously announced TLTRO slightly more favorable by cutting the lowest interest rate on the TLTRO: "Specifically, the Governing Council decided to reduce the interest rate on TLTRO III operations during the period from June 2020 to June 2021 to 50 basis points below the average interest rate on the Eurosystem's main refinancing operations prevailing over the same period."

"Moreover, for counterparties whose eligible net lending reaches the lending performance threshold, the interest rate over the period from June 2020 to June 2021 will now be 50 basis points below the average deposit facility rate prevailing over the same period."