The European Central Bank (ECB) and other central banks are often accused of favouring borrowers over lenders by maintaining low interest rates, but such a conclusion is "unwarranted", ECB executive board member Benoît Cœuré said in a speech yesterday.

Addressing the International Center for Monetary and Banking Studies in Geneva, he argued that "persistently low asset returns or, more generally, poor investment opportunities are simply one of the many manifestations of a deep recession".

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