Draghi says big threat of euro crisis over The European Central Bank's offer of more than $1tn-worth of three-year loans has removed the immediate threat of a major financial crisis in the eurozone, Mario Draghi, president of the ECB, said on Thursday. Speaking after the ECB's 23-strong governing council, as expected, left its main interest rate unchanged at 1 per cent, Mr Draghi said the three-year long-term refinancing operation (LTRO) had been an "unquestionable success" and had "removed tail risk from the environment." A rate cut in the coming months now appears unlikely after Mr Draghi said the ECB expects inflation to remain above 2 per cent in 2012 on the back of increases in energy prices and indirect taxes, and that a loosening of monetary policy was not discussed at Thursday's meeting. The ECB president signalled that no further three-year LTROs were planned, with "the ball now in governments" and the banks" court" to continue reforms and to repair banking balance sheets. However, he refused to rule out the option completely, saying: "We don't pre-commit - we want to see exactly what the effects are." The controversial measures, which have resulted in the size of the ECB's balance sheet soaring above €3tn for the first time, have provoked a backlash from Germany's Bundesbank. In a letter leaked last week, Jens Weidmann, Bundesbank president, urged the repeal of rule changes that made it easier for banks in some eurozone states to borrow from the ECB and gave more discretion to national central banks. Mr Weidmann also voiced concern over the Bundesbank's €500bn in claims on the eurozone's Target2 payments system, which have resulted from a lack of interbank lending. Mr Draghi attempted to placate Mr Weidmann on Thursday and address concerns that the governing council was split, saying that all of its members were "in the same boat" and that others shared the Bundesbank's view on Target2. However, he also said there was "nothing to be gained by arguing publicly outside the governing council." Mr Draghi came under fresh fire from Germany on Thursday, with Jürgen Stark, who resigned last year from the ECB's executive board and is a former Bundesbank vice-president, telling the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper that the quality of the ECB's balance sheet was "shocking." Mr Draghi responded by saying that Mr Stark had backed the decision to offer three-year loans during his time at the ECB and that the former executive board member, who left the ECB at the end of last year, had no insight into the collateral that had been offered in exchange for the three-year loans. Revised ECB forecasts show weaker eurozone economic growth than envisaged in the central bank's last set of estimates, published in December. Growth is now expected to be in a range of between -0.5 per cent and 0.3 per cent in 2012, and between 0 per cent and 2.2 per cent in 2013. Indicators such as purchasing managers" indices, have also suggested the worst of the eurozone slowdown is over. Also strengthening the case for keeping interest rates on hold have been stubbornly high inflation figures. The latest estimates forecast inflation of between 2.1 per cent and 2.7 per cent in 2012, and between 0.9 per cent and 2.3 per cent in 2013.