Mubasher: The risk of the European economy plunging into recession are “very low,” the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Vice President Luis De Guindos said.

Preliminary data out from Germany, showed on Thursday that the Eurozone’s leading economy almost avoided a technical recession in the third quarter of this year.

Europe was in a position where growth remained “below potential,” De Guindos said at BNP Paribas banking conference.

However, the central bank’s vice president warned that a period of sub-par growth in the bloc continued.

Last September, the ECB lowered interest rates further into negative territory, announcing that it would restart its mass bond-purchasing programme.

De Guindos echoed calls for the Eurozone governments to ramp up their economic stimulus measures, as low bank profitability posed a major threat to the region’s financial stability.