ECB's Noyer: no question of withdrawing measures now

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is not thinking about withdrawing non-conventional policy measures today but some will increasingly be replaced by the market, ECB Governing Council Member Christian Noyer said on Sunday.

The ECB has been pumping billions of euros into money markets throughout the financial crisis in an attempt to restore order and reduce the cost of borrowing for banks, firms and consumers.

For many commercial banks it has become the dominant source of funding, although low demand for the ECB's offer of 12-month funds last week may have been a sign that banks are getting back on their feet.

But Noyer said there was no plan for a swift withdrawal of the extra measures.

"There is no question today of withdrawing the non-conventional measures but certain measures may become less useful as the market takes their place," he told reporters on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said last week that the support could not be maintained forever. He said the measures would need to be phased out once the financial system returned to normal.

The introduction of one-year lending to banks is one of the measures the ECB brought in during the financial crisis.

A Reuters poll showed last week that traders expect the ECB to start withdrawing the massive amounts of liquidity it has pumped into markets within a year.

The ECB will meet on Thursday to discuss monetary policy.

(Reporting by Anna Willard; Editing by Tim Ahmann)