She said her "demand-driven" approach fitted the euro zone, whose 20 countries vary in economic strength and have separate banking systems. "A demand-driven system is well-suited for a heterogeneous currency union that may be prone to fragmentation," Schnabel said in an interview. "Such a system also likely limits the size of the central bank balance sheet." She conceded, however, that "it could make sense to have a mix of different tools", suggesting policymakers may be looking for a compromise in this complex yet crucial debate for the euro zone financial system. Loans to banks or a structural bond portfolio would come on top of this.

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Persons: Isabel Schnabel, Ralph Orlowski, Schnabel, Philip Lane, Schnabel's counterargument, Francesco Canepa, Catherine Evans Organizations: Frankfurt, Banking Congress, Old Opera, REUTERS, European Central Bank, ECB, Reuters, Federal Reserve, Bank of England, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, FRANKFURT