LONDON (Reuters) - The European Central Bank can still tweak some of its interest rates, although further cuts to its benchmark refinancing rate are unlikely, the bank's vice president said on Friday.
The ECB took the bold step of effectively charging banks if they park cash with it on Thursday by taking its marginal deposit rate - one of the two rates that straddle its benchmark refi rate - into negative territory.
"(ECB head Mario) Draghi made clear that for all practical purposes this is the lower bound, but he also didn't exclude that in some developments of the situation, we will act," Constancio said in an interview with CNBC.
"As he said, we can still act in some of the key rates... For instance we could tweak with the corridor, not necessarily the main refinancing rate."
In other comments he added that the 16 billion euro fine facing France's biggest bank BNP Paribas from U.S. authorities would not ruin the bank.
(Reporting by Marc Jones)