ECB's Coeure sees no trouble finding bonds to buy under QE plan

The ECB began printing money to buy sovereign bonds - so-called quantitative easing (QE) - on Monday with a view to supporting growth and lifting euro zone inflation from below zero up toward its target of just under 2 percent.

But with some domestic investors reluctant to sell bonds, analysts have questioned whether the ECB can reach its target of buying a trillion euros ($1.07 trillion) of mainly sovereign bonds over the next 18 months.

Coeure sought to allay such concerns.

"Let me state firmly that at this point there are no signs of issues in respect of sourcing the bonds," he said in the text of a speech for delivery at a conference on sovereign bond markets.

Coeure added: "We may face a scarcity of bonds, but we won't face a shortage. Scarcity is a fact and not a problem per se."

On Monday, the ECB and euro zone national central banks bought 3.2 billion euros of public sector bonds, Coeure said, adding that this put the program on track to reach a total of 60 billion euros in bonds in March, as intended by the ECB.

With the ECB taking bonds off banks' hands, Coeure expected them to invest in more risky assets.

"In the context of the euro area economy, which is largely bank-based, we would expect banks to shift their portfolios from bonds to riskier investments such as loans to firms and households," he said.

"This would provide further stimulus to the economy".

The ECB would publish the aggregate amount of bonds purchased under its QE program once a week, and give more details for each country once a month, Coeure said.

(Writing by Paul Carrel; editing by John O'Donnell)