ECB policymakers play down need for more stimulus

TALLINN/DUBLIN (Reuters) - Two European Central Bank policymakers played down the need for more stimulus in the near term on Wednesday, calling for people to be patient and wait for existing measures to take effect. The ECB unveiled a surprisingly large stimulus package in March but falling inflation expectations have fuelled hopes of more easing, possibly as early as June when the bank's staff present new growth and inflation forecasts. "It has to be something genuinely new in order for us to revise the current set-up," Irish central bank governor Philip Lane said, adding that decisions will be data-driven. "Throughout 2015, the data showed that various parts of the exceptional measure are working," Lane, who sits on the ECB's Governing Council, told a news conference. "The current policy is based on our current set of projections, of course they can be revised whenever there's a significant revision in the data," he added. The ECB has been fighting ultra-low inflation, which has hovered either side of zero for the past year, hoping that asset buys and negative rates will fuel growth. "I think it is good to make the point that we need some patience," Estonian central bank chief Ardo Hansson said. "We know that monetary policy works with long lags and therefore aligning ... expectations with what is realistically possible is good," said Hansson, who also sits on the ECB's rate-setting panel. Hansson added that the ECB has been successful so far in fending off the compounding impact of low energy prices on wages and the price of other goods and services. The ECB especially fears the second-round impact of low inflation as it could entrench low price growth, possibly leading to a hard-to-break cycle of deflation. Supporting the bank's argument that loose monetary conditions are working, fresh lending data on Wednesday showed a continued pick up, albeit from relatively low figures. Lending to companies expanded by 1.1 percent in March, the highest rate since December 2011. Household lending was up 1.6 percent, keeping up the steady pace of the previous month, which was the fastest since November 2011. "The data are very encouraging given recent concerns about the impact of negative interest rates," JPMorgan economist Greg Fuzesi said. "The recent pickup in bank lending is also broad based by country." (Reporting by David Mardiste and Padraic Halpin; Writing by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Andrew Heavens)