If you google for the first failure, you get not Bloomberg but Zero Hedge: Breaking: ECB Reports Failed Sterilization Auction, Demand For Fixed Term Deposits Comes At 0.6 BTC (06/29/2010)

A week ago, when noting the increasingly weaker results of the ECB's Term Deposit Operation, better known as liquidity sterilization, we said, to the usual ridicule: "With another auction next week, and then many more, all dependent on the amount of debt that Spain et al place "successfully", we expect the Bid To Cover to decline consistently, until we hit a 1 BTC and the ECB realizes its monetization program is a failure." It turns out we were right much sooner than expected: the ECB just reported a failed sterilization operation, attracting only €31.9 billion bids for the most recent, seventh sequential €55 billion auction, in which that amount of sovereign bond purchases had to be "laundered" through the system.

Keynesianism is intellectually hard, as evidenced by the inability of many trained economists to get it - Paul Krugman

Zero Hedge's reaction to the second sterilization failure: Next European Leg Down? First Failed ECB Monetization Sterilization, As Central Bank Has E13 Billion Shortfall In Bond Bids (12/28/2010)

Today, to little fanfare, the ECB managed to obtain just E60.8 billion in tender interest for its most recent 7 Day SMP "peripheral bond monetization" operation, whereby it needed at least E73.5 billion to be able to offload all of its cumulative acquired sovereign bonds to other financial institutions: a de facto sterilization, which is why the ECB has so far been claiming it is not monetizing debt (as it constantly rolls the held balance on other bank balance sheets). That is no more: following today, the ECB is left with just under E13 billion in sovereign holdings and thus are not sterilized. ... And what is most disturbing is that this complete lack of interest (or telegraphed lack of bank liquidity) happened even as the marginal rate jumped by over 50%, from 0.6% to 1%- the same as the maximum rate allowed on an auction. ... Because despite what ING economist Martin Van Vliet told Reuters, "It has happened before but I wouldn't make too much of a big deal out of it", we would make a big deal out of it, as this has actually not happened before.

The entry is accompanied by a historical chart of all auctions up to that point.

Keynesianism is intellectually hard, as evidenced by the inability of many trained economists to get it - Paul Krugman