Italy, Spain and France Would Face 90 Billion Euro Hit on New ECB ‘Key’

The headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the skyline with its financial district are seen in the early evening in Frankfurt, Germany, on Sept. 30, 2018. Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters

FRANKFURT—The European Central Bank would have to reduce its holdings of Italian, Spanish, and French government bonds by nearly 90 billion euros if it strictly follows its new shareholder base, Reuters calculations on ECB data showed on Dec. 3.

The ECB started to buy government debt in 2015 in a bid to revive inflation in the eurozone, with a pledge to divide up its holdings in proportion to how much capital each country had paid into Frankfurt’s coffers.