FRANKFURT: The European Central Bank cut euro zone interest rates to an all-time low of 0.75 percent and its deposit rate to zero at its July policy meeting and is expected to cut rates again in the coming months.
Below are highlights of ECB policymakers' comments since the July 5 meeting.
To read full stories, double-click on the numbers in brackets. For highlights of ECB President Mario Draghi's news conference, click on.
MARIO DRAGHI (PRESIDENT), JULY 21
Asked if the euro were in danger: "No, absolutely not. We see analysts imagining the scenario of a euro zone blow-up. They don't recognise the political capital that our leaders have invested in this union and Europeans' support. The euro is irreversible."
BENOIT COEURE (EXECUTIVE BOARD), JULY 20 On negative deposit rate: "It's still possible. It's true that we are hitting a psychological limit at zero. And it's unclear whether markets can function at negative interest rates. Some of them can. Some of them apparently can't. So before making the next step, which would be moving the deposit facility to a negative yield, we'll reflect about it."
JOERG ASMUSSEN (EXECUTIVE BOARD), JULY 18
"There is a real north-south divide (within the euro zone), which has not been seen in the last 10 to 15 years. We have to overcome that quickly."
EWALD NOWOTNY (AUSTRIA), JULY 17
On Greece: "A country that has manoeuvred itself into such a crisis must show some efforts of its own in order to receive help from outside. Only when this is fulfilled can one address the time issue."
CHRISTIAN NOYER (FRANCE), JULY 16
"What we see is that we have a clear problem of transmission of monetary policy. In the eyes of the markets, the interest rate charged to individual banks depends on the funding costs of the sovereign and not on the rates set by the central bank."
"This means that the monetary policy transmission does not work. We tried to counter this phenomenon which is unacceptable for a central bank in a monetary union."
JENS WEIDMANN (GERMANY), JULY 13
"I am convinced that Spain needs to take a broad-based approach to tackling its problems. ... It would also have a positive effect on the bond market if investors saw that the conditions of the aid programme went beyond the banking sector."
KLAAS KNOT (NETHERLANDS), JULY 13
"Should the situation deteriorate, there is no article of faith preventing us from going below 0.75 percent... Currently, we regard 0.75 percent as appropriate."
JOSEF BONNICI (MALTA), JULY 12
"The ECB still has tools to use, but the basis of the problem is the excessive deficit of some member states, and this is what needs to be tackled."
JOZEF MAKUCH (SLOVAKIA), JULY 12
"Where necessary, the ECB will use measures already used or new ones. Currently the situation is not as such, there is no debate about it."
On whether the ECB could narrow the gap between its main rate and its deposit rate. "There is no debate on the corridor at the moment."
MARIO DRAGHI (PRESIDENT), JULY 9
On interest rates, after last week's cut: "Whether we are going to do more than that... we have to look at what the situation is, look at the data and the developments and then we'll make up our minds in the Governing Council about what next actions we'll do."
PETER PRAET (EXECUTIVE BOARD), JULY 9
"The euro zone crisis is now much more profound and more fundamental than at the time of Lehman."
EWALD NOWOTNY (AUSTRIA), JULY 9
"A further lowering of the deposit rate, in my view, would not have much effect."
"Frankly speaking, I think that at this (deposit rate) level of zero it is not really a matter of economic perspectives whether you use the deposit rate, but more a question of general risk aversion that you do have in the market."
BENOIT COEURE (EXECUTIVE BOARD), JULY 6
"The view of the Governing Council is that we don't need additional non-standard measures at the current juncture."
On charging banks to deposit at the ECB: "Some central banks have done that... I don't think this is appropriate for the ECB at the current juncture. It's a theoretical possibility."
On bond buying: "It would be a paradox if the central bank intervened in the place of the governments.
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