S&P: ECB ratings affirmed at 'AAA/A-1+'; outlook stable - RTRS

Standard & Poor's Financial Services just released its latest assessment on the European Central Bank, with key highlights, via Reuters, found below:

• The ECB has extensive monetary flexibility and its eurozone members have, on average, high sovereign credit ratings
• Stable outlook reflects view that factors supporting ECB's ratings will remain in place over the next two years, at least
• ECB's very high monetary policy flexibility is supported by euro's role and free-floating exchange rate regime
• Euro has been a free-floating currency since its introduction and "we do not expect this policy to change"
• ECB's very high monetary policy flexibility is also supported by the credibility and effectiveness of the central bank's monetary policy
• We expect the bank will "successfully" maintain price stability over the medium-to-longer term
• The ECBcould consider lowering the ratings if we considered that the ECB's monetary flexibility was decreasing
• ECB's QE program will not mutualize potential losses arising from program, instead, 4/5th of QE purchases will stay on central banks' balance sheets