-Mario Draghi, ECB President
After being briefly interrupted by a protestor chanting "end ECB dictatorship", Mario Draghi, ECB President, said that there were signs that a recently launched quantitative easing programme supported the Euro zone economic recovery. Although the central bank expects the currency bloc's economy to strengthen, it does not plan to curb or curtail its money-printing scheme. Draghi was also surprised that an end to the programme is being discussed so soon after it was launched. While Moody's Investors Service warned the Frankfurt-based central bank that it could soon run out of eligible bonds from some governments, Draghi brushed aside this warning. ECB President also noted that borrowing conditions for companies and households have "improved notably". He also agreed with critics of the QE programme, who fear that asset-buying scheme might fuel fresh asset bubbles, but said that there was no signs that such bubbles were emerging. Before the press conference, the ECB left its benchmark rate unchanged at all-time low of 0.05% in line with expectations. The decision came on the backdrop of signs that the Euro zone is turning the corner after years of recession and stagnation. Recent data from Markit showed that the Euro bloc's economy expanded at the fastest pace in nearly a year in March. Meanwhile, the ECB raised the maximum funding that Greek banks can obtain by 800 million euros, lifting the ceiling on Emergency Liquidity Assistance to 74 billion euros.
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