Germany's share of ECB rises as Italy, Spain and Greece's recede

The Bundesbank's share in the capital of the European Central Bank is set to rise at the expense of countries whose economies have shrunk, such as Italy, Spain and Greece, according to the ECB's new shareholder structure published on Monday.

This so-called capital key is re-calculated every five years based on the size of each country's economy and population.

Once largely symbolic, it now carries greater significance because it is used to divvy up purchases of government bonds under the ECB's stimulus program. [Reuters]