Cutting rates would not be a cure-all, says ECB executive

The European Central Bank is expected to discuss interest rate cuts at its next meeting but although reducing rates from an all-time low of 1% was possible, it would not be a cure-all, an ECB executive board member has declared.

Benoit Coeure also criticised governments for not using the EU bailout fund, the EFSF, to buy government debt of the countries in the eye of the debt crisis.

“Certainly it’s a mystery why the EFSF was allowed almost a year ago to undertake secondary market interventions and governments have not yet chosen to use that possibility,” he said.