End of ECB buys leaves Italy, France, Spain with 64 billion euro hangover

The end of the European Central Bank's massive stimulus program has left Italy, France and Spain seeking new buyers for up to 64 billion euro ($73 billion) of bonds, ECB data suggests.

That's how much the ECB has "overbought" those countries' debt by, according to Reuters calculations on Thursday based on the bank's end-December stock of eurozone government bonds.

The ECB said last month it would bring those bond holdings "into closer alignment" with each country's share in the central bank's capital in coming years.

To achieve its goal, the ECB will have to reinvest proceeds from some of its maturing Italian, Spanish and French holdings into the government bonds of countries that were "underbought."

Including Greece, whose bonds were not part of the stimulus scheme due to their low credit rating, that 'realignment' figure would rise as high as 89 billion...

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