Recital 1

(1)Decision (EU) 2016/948 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2016/16) ¹ established a corporate sector purchase programme (CSPP). Alongside the third covered bond purchase programme, the asset-backed securities purchase programme and the secondary markets public sector asset purchase programme, the CSPP is part of the expanded asset purchase programme (APP). The APP aims to further enhance the transmission of monetary policy, facilitate the provision of credit to the euro area economy, ease borrowing conditions for households and firms and contribute to returning inflation rates to levels below but close to 2 % over the medium term, consistent with the primary objective of the European Central Bank (ECB) of maintaining price stability.