Article: Litterbin of last resort; Bank liquidity.(The ECB's dodgy assets)

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The assets being dumped on the ECB do not look very recyclable

OH DEAR, it was not meant to be like this. The European Central Bank (ECB), widely praised for providing banks with ample liquidity during the credit crunch, now has a problem: how to encourage banks to place freshly created asset-backed securities (ABS) with investors, rather than dumping them, like so much radioactive waste, in its vaults.

The ECB accepts a wide range of assets, including those such as ABS for which there is temporarily very little trading, as collateral in its refinancing operations. Provided the tranche of securities is the most senior, and rated A- or above, the ...

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