Significance
The programme expands existing purchases of asset-backed securities and covered bonds with large-scale buying of bonds issued by euro-area governments, agencies and European institutions. Purchases will amount to a combined total of 60 billion euros (69 billion dollars) per month, starting in March. They will continue until at least September 2016 -- or until there is progress towards the central bank's medium-term inflation goal.
Impacts
The larger than expected size of the programme will be achievable thanks to partial risk sharing among national central banks.
Wealth effects will be smaller than in the United States and United Kingdom, as euro-area capital markets are less deep.
The QE programme will amount to 12% of euro-area GDP, while the US programme was larger, at 25% of GDP.
Disaggregate Income and Wealth Effects in the Largest Euro Area Countries