Similar comments were made about the US Federal Reserve in 2008, after it began large-scale purchases of non-conventional assets, including agency debt and mortgage-backed securities, in order to support the collapsing US housing market. Former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker, for example, complained that the institution was operating at the bounds of legality.
地中海国家正在经历严重的财政危机，5月9日，欧洲央行宣布它将购买这些国家的政府债券，之后批评人士就抱怨称欧洲央行“失去了贞洁”。此举看上去似乎明显违反了欧洲央行相关法律第21条，该条规定禁止给政府或欧盟机构提供信贷便利。