What factors may prevent the ECB from exiting its highly expansionary monetary policy?

It is likely that the ECB will keep its monetary policy highly expansionary for a long time. This is also consistent with its latest statements. Many factors are lead ing it to pursue this strategy: The high level of public debt and the need to maintain a high level of public spending; The need to avoid a debt crisis in Italy; The high level of corporate debt; The absence of inflationary risk due to weak wage growth; The desire to drive up the employment rate, particularly in countries where it is abnormally low; The desire to reindustrialise, leading to the need for a weak euro; The need to support companies’ capital formation; The structural situation of excess savings in the euro zone. If the result is a sustained period of expansionary monetary policy in the euro zone, one should expect asset prices to continue to rise and eventually a public backlash in response to th eir rise, as well as lasting difficulties for retail banks as long-term interest rates remain low .