Covered bond buying branded ‘insane’ as ECB goes for QE-lite

The European Central Bank surprised ABS bankers and infuriated many of their covered bond peers on Thursday by committing to a broad purchase programme for both asset classes. The move was welcomed in the ABS market and sparked a fresh hunt for secondary paper, but deprived of more detail bankers were unable to say how quickly the measures would encourage more primary issuance, if at all.