ECB support ‘stopped total Irish collapse’

A Central Bank study has revealed the only thing that kept Ireland from experiencing a catastrophic collapse was support from the European Central Bank.

A technical paper from the Central Bank entitled ‘Was the Securities Markets Programme Effective in Stabilising Irish Yields?’ found the programme had prevented a total collapse in Irish bond yields.

“It prevented some catastrophic movements of yields when market participants most feared an absence of liquidity on the buy-side of the market,” the paper said.