On 22 January 2015, the ECB Governing Council announced the launch of an expanded asset purchase programme (APP). The APP broadened the Eurosystem’s purchases to include bonds issued by euro area central governments, agencies and European institutions (i.e. the public sector purchase programme, or PSPP). This expanded programme encompasses the purchase programme for asset-backed securities (ABSPP) and the third covered bond purchase programme (CBPP3), which had already been launched at the end of 2014. On 10 March 2016, the ECB Governing Council took the decision to add a non-financial corporate sector purchase programme (CSPP) to the APP. Through the APP, the Eurosystem aimed to lower long-term interest rates and provide additional liquidity in order to respond to the excessively low inflation rate at the time and safeguard price stability in the medium term. 

Following the start of APP asset purchases, net purchase volumes were adjusted regularly as follows.

• March 2015 to March 2016: €60 billion per month
• April 2016 to March 2017: €80 billion per month
• April 2017 to December 2017: €60 billion per month
• January 2018 to September 2018: €30 billion per month
• October 2018 to December 2018: €15 billion per month
• January 2019 to October 2019: no net purchases
• November 2019 to March 2022: €20 billion per month (additionally €120 billion in total from March 2020 to December 2020)
• April 2022: €40 billion
• May 2022: €30 billion
• June 2022: €20 billion
• July 2022 to February 2023: no net purchases
• March 2023 to June 2023: no net purchases and reduction of the APP portfolio by an average of €15 billion per month through only partial reinvestments of redemptions
• Since July 2023: no reinvestments of redemptions 

Every week, the latest APP figures are published in the Eurosystem's consolidated weekly financial statement.

Third covered bond purchase programme (CBPP3)

The ECB Governing Council decided on the operational details of the third covered bond purchase programme (CBPP3) on 2 October 2014. The objective of the CBPP3 was to enhance the transmission of monetary policy by supporting the provision of credit to the economy and, as a result, provide further monetary policy accommodation.

Purchases of euro-denominated covered bonds deemed eligible according to the Eurosystem’s collateral framework for monetary policy operations began on 20 October 2014 and covered both the primary and secondary markets. As of March 2023, no further primary market purchases have been made.

Asset-backed securities purchase programme (ABSPP)

The ECB’s press release dated 2 October 2014 also outlined the operational details of the asset-backed securities (ABS) purchase programme. The purchases of simple and transparent ABS issued by the private sector on the primary and secondary markets began on 21 November 2014. As of March 2023, only secondary market purchases were carried out under the ABSPP. Purchases under the ABSPP were conducted on behalf of the Eurosystem by the Nationale Bank van België/Banque Nationale de Belgique, the Banque de France, the Banca d’Italia, De Nederlandsche Bank, the Banco de España and the Deutsche Bundesbank.

Public sector purchase programme (PSPP)

On 22 January 2015, the ECB unveiled the public sector purchase programme (PSPP), consisting of the purchase of bonds issued by euro area central governments, agencies and European institutions. The initial limit on purchases was 33 % for each issuer and 25 % per international securities identification number (ISIN). The issue share limit was raised to 33 % in general terms by the Governing Council’s decision of 3 September 2015. On 3 December 2015, the ECB Governing Council decided to extend this to include regional and local government bonds. In its introductory statement to the press conference of 10 March 2016, the ECB Governing Council announced that it had additionally decided to increase share limits for the purchases of securities issued by eligible international organisations and multilateral development banks from 33 % to 50 %.

With regard to hypothetical losses under the PSPP, purchases of securities issued by international and supranational institutions will be subject to loss sharing. The ECB Governing Council reduced the share of such securities purchased under the PSPP from 12 % to 10 % on 10 March 2016. These securities were purchased only by national central banks. The remaining asset purchases were made by the NCBs and the ECB. The NCBs focused on public sector bonds issued by their home country. Hypothetical losses stemming from bonds issued by central, regional and local governments as well as agencies are borne by the respective national central bank itself. In line with the reduction in the purchase share of securities issued by European institutions to 10 %, the ECB’s share of the PSPP purchases, for which potential losses would have to be shared, was increased from 8 % to 10 %. This implies that 20 % of the asset purchases under the PSPP remain subject to a regime of risk sharing, while 80 % of the purchases are excluded from risk sharing.

Purchases began on 9 March 2015 and only take place in the secondary market.

Corporate sector purchase programme (CSPP)

On 10 March 2016, the ECB Governing Council decided that the APP would be extended to include outright purchases of investment-grade euro-denominated bonds issued by non-bank corporations. This corporate sector purchase programme (CSPP) enabled the Eurosystem to buy bonds issued by non-banks established in the euro area. Securities issued by credit institutions and by entities with a parent company which belongs to a banking group were not eligible.

The purchases began on 8 June 2016 and were normally conducted in both the primary and secondary markets (for public undertakings in the secondary market only, as under the PSPP). Purchases under the CSPP were conducted on behalf of the Eurosystem by the Nationale Bank van België/Banque Nationale de Belgique, the Banque de France, the Banca d’Italia, the Banco de España, Suomen Pankki – Finlands Bank and the Deutsche Bundesbank.

The eligible maturity bands for bonds that could be purchased under the CSPP were extended when the temporary pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP) was announced. From this point onwards, bonds and debt instruments with an initial maturity of 365/366 days or less and a remaining maturity of at least 28 days were eligible for purchases under both the PEPP and the CSPP. In this context, non-financial commercial paper (CP) with adequate credit quality were also eligible for purchases under the CSPP.