BRUSSELS - European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi has said he is prepared to use more unconventional measures to spur growth in the eurozone.

"We stand ready to use additional unconventional instruments within our mandate, and alter the size and/or the composition of our unconventional interventions should it become necessary to further address risks of a too-prolonged period of low inflation," he told MEPs on Monday (18 September).

He said loose monetary policy will only be stopped "when we have complied with our mandate" which is to keep inflation at close to 2 percent. Currently inflation is at 0.4 percent.

The ECB has taken a series of steps since the summer to try and boost the economy and head off deflation, including interest-rate cuts and cheap loans to banks. In early September the Frankfurt-based bank cut rates further and announced it planned to buy asset backed securities (ABS).

However its lending programme was deemed to have faltered when 255 eurozone banks last week only borrowed €82 billion of the €400 billion available.