The European Central Bank (ECB) could begin buying Greek state bonds from July, after Greece repays maturing bonds currently held by ECB, Mario Draghi told reporters on January 22. Responding to questions, the European central banker added that the same general regulation that applies to all Eurozone member-states will also apply to Greece: the ECB could buy up to 33% of state bonds traded in the secondary market, or not more than 25% of any specific bond issue. 

Draghi emphasised that in the case of Greece, the country’s participation in the quantitative easing (QE) programme meant that an exception set by ECB on accepting Greek state bonds as collateral – for as long as the country was in an adjustment programme - was valid.