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The
euro zone's rate setters agreed to stay put at the Oct 23-24
meeting, which was Mario Draghi's last as ECB President, and to
give a stimulus package unveiled a month earlier more time to
work its way through to the economy.
The policymakers also made a "strong call" for unity after a
decision to start adding to the ECB's 2.6 trillion euro ($2.9
trillion) bond pile had been forced through against opposition
from a third of the Governing Council in September, triggering a
rare public backlash.
"Looking ahead, a strong call was made for unity of the
Governing Council," the ECB said in its account of the meeting.
"While it was underlined that open and frank discussions in the
Governing Council were absolutely necessary and legitimate, it
was regarded as important to form a consensus and to unite
behind the Governing Council's commitment to pursuing its
inflation aim," it added.
This chimed with the approach taken by Draghi's successor,
Christine Lagarde, who last week took governors on a two-day
retreat to mend fences and listen to requests for more
consensual decision making.
As regards the economic outlook, policymakers noted that
incoming data raised questions as to whether the euro zone's
economic weakness would last even longer than expected in
September.
But they agreed to take a "wait and see" approach because the
latest stimulus measures, which also included a rate cut and
more generous loans to banks, needed more time to take effect.
"A plea was made for patience to allow the measures taken in
September to work through the economy, supporting a 'wait and
see' posture at the current juncture," the ECB said.
(Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Balazs Koranyi)
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