ECB lends European credit institutes unprecedented sum

The European Central Bank (ECB) loaned 442 billion euros at a fixed interest rate of 1.0 percent to banks and savings banks in the Eurozone on Wednesday. The liberal daily Der Tagesspiegel examines the impact of the move: "The fact that European central bankers are pumping such sums into the market shows how serious the situation still is. … The ECB is taking a major risk with its warm money shower policy. The more liquidity there is, the greater the threat of inflation. That means there can't be too many repeats of this billion euro game. Nor should it be necessary, for now it's the banks' turn to make a move. They can no longer give the excuse that they have no money to support the economy and consumers. And another thing: if you only pay 1 percent interest there's no justification for charging your customers 10 percent."

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