ECB’s Coeuré: Europe faces ‘fundamental choice’ over ABS

European ABS market can be as deep as that in the US – but only if governments are willing to provide some form of public backing, ECB board member tells Risk

Benoît Coeuré, ECB

A revamped asset-backed securitisation (ABS) market can break the traditional reliance of European borrowers on bank loans, according to Benoît Coeuré, executive board member at the European Central Bank (ECB), but only if politicians and taxpayers are willing to guarantee the debt in some form – a "very fundamental choice" now facing EU governments, he says.

Coeuré made his remarks in an interview with Risk.

The ECB has been a prime mover in plans to revive the European ABS market by creating a