ECB can deviate from countries' bond-buying quotas as needed

FRANKFURT: The European Central Bank can deviate from each euro zone country's quota to the extent needed when it buys government bonds under its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme, the ECB's chief economist Philip Lane said on Tuesday.

"The whole point of having flexibility is that you can deviate from the capital key," Lane told an online interview with the Institute of International Finance.

"It's very much a state-contingent issue," he added.