Article 3, Paragraph 2. · ECB/2020/9

Contents

2.In order to be eligible for purchase under the PSPP, marketable debt securities shall comply with the eligibility criteria for marketable assets for Eurosystem credit operations pursuant to Part Four of Guideline (EU) 2015/510 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2014/60)^note, subject to the following requirements:

(a)the issuer or guarantor of the marketable debt securities shall have a credit quality assessment of at least Credit Quality Step 3 in the Eurosystem's harmonised rating scale expressed in the form of at least one public credit rating provided by an external credit assessment institution (ECAI) accepted within the Eurosystem credit assessment framework;

(b)if multiple ECAI issuer ratings or ECAI guarantor ratings are available, the first-best rule shall apply, i.e. the best available ECAI issuer rating or ECAI guarantor rating shall apply. If the fulfilment of the credit quality requirements is established based on an ECAI guarantor rating, the guarantee shall fulfil the features of an acceptable guarantee as laid down in Article 87 and Articles 113 to 115 of Guideline (EU) 2015/510 (ECB/2014/60);

(c)in the absence of an ECAI issuer rating and an ECAI guarantor rating, a marketable debt security shall have at least one ECAI issue rating of at least Credit Quality Step 3 on the Eurosystem's harmonised rating scale;

(d)if the credit assessment provided by an accepted ECAI for the issuer, guarantor or issue does not comply with at least Credit Quality Step 3 in the Eurosystem's harmonised rating scale, marketable debt securities shall be eligible only if they are issued or fully guaranteed by the central governments of euro area Member States under a financial assistance programme and in respect of which the application of the Eurosystem's credit quality threshold is suspended by the Governing Council pursuant to Article 8 of Guideline ECB/2014/31^note;

(e)in the event of a review of an ongoing financial assistance programme, eligibility for PSPP purchases shall be suspended and shall resume only in the event of a positive outcome of the review.

Defined terms · 8

Show every defined term

cumulative net purchases
means the sum of net purchases since the start of the respective purchase programme.
Eurosystem central bank
means the ECB and the national central banks of the Member States whose currency is the euro (hereinafter the 'NCBs');
international organisation
means an entity within the meaning of Article 118 of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council and that the Eurosystem has classified as such for the purpose of the PSPP;
multilateral development bank
means an entity within the meaning of Article 117(2) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and that the Eurosystem has classified as such for the purpose of the PSPP;
net purchases
means purchases of eligible marketable debt securities in a given month, net of redemption amounts from maturing securities purchased under the APP within that month;
positive outcome of a review
means the later of the following two decisions: the decision by the Board of Directors of the European Stability Mechanism and, in case the International Monetary Fund co-finances the financial assistance programme, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund to approve the next disbursement under that programme, on the understanding that both decisions are necessary for the resumption of purchases under the PSPP;
recognised agency
means an entity that the Eurosystem has classified as such;
stock
means the sum of the book value, at the time of purchase, of all purchases made in marketable debt securities, taking into account redemptions of maturing principal that have occurred;