One year of ECB quantitative easing

On March 9, 2015, the European Central Bank began its programme of quantitative easing – or money printing to buy assets – with a view to lifting sub-zero inflation back up towards the target of just under 2 percent. One year on, it has spent over 700 billion euros buying assets – mainly sovereign bonds, but also debt issued by some European institutions, as well as asset-backed securities (ABS) and covered bonds - at a pace of 1.3 million euros a minute. That equates to more than 2000 euros for every person in the currency bloc. The graphics in this package illustrate the programme's progress and assess its success against various market and economic measures.