BEIJING, May 11 -- Eurozone central banks have begun buying government bonds to help support fractured markets, marking a reversal of ECB resistance to full-scale asset purchases to contain Greece's debt crisis.

The central banks of Germany and Finland confirmed Monday that central banks had wasted no time playing their part in a US$1 trillion emergency rescue package to stabilize the euro and prevent a sovereign debt crisis spreading across Europe.

"All euro system central banks will be involved in carrying out the purchases," a Bank of Finland spokesman said.

An Italian banking source said the focus was on purchasing bonds of countries in greatest difficulty.

The European Central Bank said in a statement early Monday that the step, dubbed the 'nuclear option' by many economists, was justified because of government promises to meet strict budget targets and step up consolidation efforts.

Only last Thursday, after the central bank's monthly meeting, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said policymakers had not discussed buying government bonds.

Boosting its firepower further, the ECB said it would also re-start dollar lending operations and reinstate some of the emergency liquidity steps it had started to phase out.
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