ECB maintains €6.76 billion worth of Cypriot government bonds

The value of Cypriot government bonds held by the European Central Bank remained steady at €6.76 billion by the end of April. This is part of the ECB's efforts to scale back its holdings and control inflation.

According to data from the Eurosystem, these bonds make up about 29% of Cyprus' total public debt. Specifically, bonds under the Public Sector Purchase Programme (PSPP) and the Pandemic Emergency Purchases Programme (PEPP) accounted for this amount.

No significant changes were seen in the value of Cypriot bonds under the PSPP portfolio, which stood at €4.29 billion. The last transaction involving Cypriot bonds by the Eurosystem was recorded in July 2023.

The ECB decided in August 2023 to stop reinvestments under its Asset Purchases Programme, including the PSPP, aiming to reduce market liquidity and combat inflation. The total balance of the Asset Purchases Programme by April decreased to €2.9 trillion.

Similarly, the value of Cypriot bonds under the PEPP remained unchanged at €2.47 billion. The overall balance of the PEPP decreased slightly to €1.66 trillion by the end of March.

The Governing Council announced plans to continue reinvesting principal payments from maturing PEPP securities in the first half of 2024. Additionally, it aims to reduce the PEPP portfolio by an average of €7.5 billion per month in the second half of the year, with plans to discontinue reinvestments under the PEPP by the end of 2024.