Bank of Estonia buys first bonds
Around noon on Monday, the Estonian central bank made its first dip into the bond market as part of a Eurozone drive to tackle inflation.
The move is part of the European Central Bank's plan to kickstart inflation in the Eurozone, and Estonia must purchase around 100-120 million euros worth of bonds each month until September 2016.
The aim of the plan is to move more money into the private sector, allowing businesses and people to borrow more cheaply.
As the Estonian government has so far restrained from issuing its own bonds, the Bank of Estonia has bought bonds of European-wide institutions such as the European Financial Stability Facility, the European Stability Mechanism and the European Investment Bank.
The European Central Bank's program has opened debate on Estonia's lack of state bonds, with many saying Estonia should take the money and invest it in infrastructure and other large-scale projects, or in state-owned companies. The Reform Party, which won the recent election and is likely to form the new government, has been against issuing state bonds.
The topic failed to make a mark on the recent election debate, with other topics such as defense and tax reform prevailing.
Editor: J.M. Laats