ECB's bond-for-cash scheme stuck at less than half of capacity

FRANKFURT: The European Central Bank's bond-for-cash scheme, through which government debt bought as part of the ECB's stimulus programme is lent out against cash to alleviate a bond scarcity, has yet to reach even half its maximum size, ECB data showed on Monday

The ECB and the euro zone's national central banks received cash collateral worth 18.1 billion euros in April against bonds lent out under the scheme, the ECB data showed.

While it has trebled since December, when the scheme was launched, it is broadly unchanged compared to March and remains far below its 50 billion euro cap.