German constitutional court rejects challenge on ECB's OMT program

Germany's Constitutional Court ruled Tuesday the Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) program run by the European Central Bank (ECB) was legal.

The court said in the final ruling that constitutional complaints against the OMT program of the ECB were unsuccessful, putting an end to years of disputes about the program.

The ECB announced in September 2012 details of the OMT program, according to which the ECB would purchase sovereign bonds issued by eurozone member states in secondary sovereign bond markets under certain conditions.

In a ruling released on June 16, the Court of Justice of the European Union decided the OMT program announced by the ECB was compatible with EU law. The Constitutional Court of Germany referred the case to the EU court in 2014.

"If interpreted in accordance with the Court of Justice's judgment, the policy decision on the OMT program does not 'manifestly' exceed the competences attributed to the European Central Bank," a statement released by the court said.

Thousands of plaintiffs filed legal complaints against the ECB's OMT program to the Constitutional Court of Germany years ago, arguing the program was not within the ECB's mandate. Endit