A multibillion-euro attempt by the European Central Bank to revive the market in securitised debt has fallen flat, highlighting the bank’s struggle to boost stubbornly low levels of lending in the euro area.

In 2014, ECB President Mario Draghi identified the securitisation market as a crucial way to boost eurozone lending. That year the ECB launched a program to buy up asset-backed securities, which bundle loans and mortgages into new debt, as part of measures aimed at injecting around €1 trillion ($1.08 trillion) into the eurozone's financial system.