Asset-backed securities to get boost

German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble says he is working with his French counterpart on ways to create a market for asset-backed securities that is strong enough not to rely on the ECB as the main buyer.

Small and medium-size companies in Europe face obstacles tapping capital even though the ECB has provided an “overabundance of liquidity”, an impasse that can’t be resolved by adding even more, Mr Schäuble said in a speech in the lower house of parliament in Berlin.

“We’re working on the revitalisation of a market for high-quality securitisations in Europe, which were discredited by the banking crisis,” Mr Schäuble said.