During the opening stages of the financial crisis, the ECB provided the necessary liquidity to euro-system banks more smoothly than other Central Banks. This book describes how that was done. More recently, a second leg to the crisis, in the guise of the sovereign debt crisis in certain peripheral countries of the euro-zone, has blown up. The operational reactions of the ECB to this are also covered, up until mid-2010. This book provides a unique insight into the ECB's monetary operations, both in normal and in crisis conditions. A 'must read' for all those concerned with Central Banking, crisis management and the inner workings of the euro-system.