Quantitative easing would be complex for ECB: policymaker Hansson

Quantitative easing, or printing money to buy assets, would be operationally complex for the European Central Bank, ECB policymaker Ardo Hansson said on Wednesday, adding that he saw a lot of questions around how to implement such a program.

Seeking to head off a drop in inflation expectations, the ECB governing council said earlier this month it was unanimous in its commitment to use unconventional tools - central bank-speak for things like quantitative easing (QE) - to counter a protracted period of low inflation.

But Hansson, who sits on the governing council, expressed concerns about QE, telling Reuters: "I still have questions because it is so operationally complex."

"There are a lot of issues you that have to decide," he added on the sidelines of a news conference in Tallinn.

"Which types of assets you would start purchasing? By what types of rules? How you would implement that in a decentralized system where there are 18 different central banks implementing monetary policy? You have to look at legal issues and so on, so I don't (think) it is so simple."

(Reporting by David Mardiste; Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Hugh Lawson)