The Steinhoff case is fuelling criticism of the ECB's purchases of corporate debt as part of its stimulus program.
Draghi said the program's risk framework had so far served the bank extremely well."Running such big corporate programs it is not unusual that losses may be happening," he told a news conference after the bank left benchmark interest rates and the terms of the asset purchase scheme unchanged.The ECB's rules only allow it to own debt as part of its asset-buying program, which means it might have to sell its Steinhoff holding if the bonds were converted to equity.Draghi said the ECB had stopped buying the bonds as soon as the firm's troubles emerged, and its losses from the purchases had been "by and large exaggerated by a factor of 10." He said policymakers were discussing the issue but "I cannot elaborate a lot about what we are going to do next."Steinhoff International Holdings NV