ECB's Praet says stimulus could 'fall on barren ground' if governments don't cut red tape

A top European Central Bank official says the bank's new 1.1 trillion euro ($1.2 trillion) monetary stimulus could "fall on barren ground" if governments do not cut red tape and excessive regulation.

ECB executive board member Peter Praet said in the text of a speech in London on Thursday that "perhaps the biggest risk" to the success of the stimulus would be governments "not doing enough to raise confidence in the future."

The ECB announced the stimulus Jan. 22 in an effort to raise growth and an alarmingly low rate of inflation. Prices in the 19-country euro currency union fell 0.6 percent in January.

The bank will start purchasing government bonds with newly printed money next month.