VIENNA (Reuters) – New Austrian National Bank Governor Robert Holzmann does not expect the European Central Bank to stick to its current policy for decades, he said in an interview aired on Friday, saying it met “pushback” at a governing board meeting this week.
The European Central Bank approved a fresh stimulus package as expected on Thursday, cutting interest rates and approving a new round of bond purchases to prop up euro zone growth and halt a worrisome drop in inflation expectations.
Asked whether the new measures were a mistake, Holzmann, who has a seat on the ECB Governing Board, told Bloomberg TV: “I’m sure this idea crossed the mind of some people and it definitely crossed my mind.”
But as things change, the policy and the forward guidance could adapt as well, he said. “The policy may change — not tomorrow, not (the day) after tomorrow — but I wouldn’t think that it is now there for the next decades.”
(Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; Editing by Michael Shields)
