John Fahey: ECB assesses risk to economy of a second Covid-19 wave

As government supports are removed we would expect lay-offs to rise as the pandemic prompts permanent business closures, writes John Fahey

Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB). Photo: Daniel Roland / AFP

The meeting of the ECB’s Governing Council for July was uneventful as the central bank made no changes to its current monetary policy stance. 

This was very much in line with market expectations as it had only last month announced an increase to its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme from €750bn to €1.35 trillion.