The European Central Bank is edging toward a bond-buying program that investors say could end up printing money, echoing efforts by the Federal Reserve and other central banks to fix a credit crisis nearing its sixth year.

ECB President Mario Draghi yesterday left open the question on whether the bank would neutralize future bond purchases, a step it has taken with all of its interventions to date. He also said the size of the new program would be “adequate to reach its objective” of curbing Italian and Spanish borrowing costs, a contrast with the “limited” scope of the previous approach.

“You shouldn't assume that we will not sterilize or sterilize,” he told reporters in Frankfurt. Spanish and Italian bonds slumped as Draghi steered clear of spelling out all the full details of his plan, which is being resisted by Germany's Bundesbank. Spain's 10-year borrowing cost jumped 17 basis points to 7.33 percent at 8:17 a.m. London time.