ECB holds 50 billion euros in SME-tied assets: Coeure

The European Central Bank has 50 billion euros ($65.7 billion) in asset-backed securities based on loans to small and mid-sized firms and could take on more in the right conditions, ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said on Monday. Small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially in southern Europe, are struggling to get financing with banks more risk-wary than usual in the face of the euro zone's debt crisis and deep recessions in many countries.
Speaking at a conference in Paris, Coeure said that ECB had already since last year taken on asset-backed securities (ABS) that pool together loans to SME in a measure aimed at helping such firms. "On our balance sheet, we've got about 50 billion euros in ABS based on pools of SME loans," he said. "We've got about 50 billion euros - before the haircuts - in direct claims on non-financial companies."