European Central Bank (ECB)
Protester shocks Draghi at ECB press conference
President’s opening remarks disrupted by protester rushing the stage; Draghi regains composure to deliver upbeat message on impact of QE in eurozone
SMEs benefit from easier European credit standards
Latest ECB bank-lending survey shows credit standards continuing to ease for enterprises in Europe during the first few months of this year; demand for loans widely expected to increase further
Cœuré cautious over loss-absorbing capacities of CCPs
ECB executive board member say loss-absorbing capacities may prove sufficient if they are applied consistently, and stresses the need for careful approach if they are to be expanded
‘Abolish currency to eliminate lower bound’ argues Buiter
Former BoE MPC member and Citigroup chief economist says scrapping currency is one way to push interest rates deep into negative territory – although there may be more practical solutions
ECB research assesses fiscal impact of bailouts
ECB paper analyses the impact on a government’s fiscal position of assistance measures; finds majority of the financial needs (4.9% of 5.1% of GDP) were recorded is first three crisis years
Rates have hit lower bound, say ECB minutes
Second ‘account’ of ECB policy meeting suggests -0.2% is the effective lower bound for interest rates, but governing council mulls various options for extending QE should it be necessary
Expectations have variable impact, finds ECB paper
Working paper suggests there have been ‘significant changes’ in the degree to which expectations have driven unemployment, with a particularly large effect during 2008 financial crisis
Draghi defends ECB’s voting opacity
While extolling the virtues of central bank transparency, the ECB governor says not publishing a voting record allows members to support the overall decision despite privately disagreeing
Jacques de Larosière on the international monetary system and the eurozone
Central Banking’s Chris Jeffery speaks to former IMF chief Jacques de Larosière about efforts to restore the global financial system and challenges for the eurozone at the Central Banking Awards 2015
Former ECB banknotes director describes 'arduous path' to Europa launch
Antti Heinonen details the challenges and occasional mishaps in delivering a ‘quantum leap’ in eurozone banknote designs, with the latest new note to be issued later this year
Nouy sets out SSM priorities for 2015
Supervisory board chair Danièle Nouy reveals focus on profitability drivers of largest banks in eurozone, as well as their risk appetite and governance; first annual report published
BoE and ECB strike deal on CCP cooperation
Central banks agree to information exchange and provision of cross-border liquidity in a crisis as the UK government drops two outstanding cases against the ECB
Greek governor paints bleak picture of life without the euro
Yannis Stournaras insists leaving the eurozone is ‘not an option’ for Greece, as it would impose ‘huge costs’ on the financial system and real economy alike
Visual interfaces ‘hold promise’ for policy-makers
Working paper published by ECB finds ‘analytical visualisations and interactive interfaces’ can help with the communication of risks; presents macro-prudential data cube
Noyer says ECB can cope with solvency risks
Banque de France governor flags risks from balance sheet expansion, but says the ECB is ‘fully protected’ against solvency risks
ECB closely watching impact of QE on financial stability
Mario Draghi tells Econ committee the central bank is aware of the potential for QE to inflate asset prices and invite excessive risk taking, but risks are ‘contained’ at present
ECB forecasts ‘gradual’ increase in US inflation
Economic bulletin published by ECB agrees with FOMC that inflation will increase gradually as labour market conditions improve and impact of low oil prices and high dollar fades
ECB paper emphasises importance of time horizons for early-warning models
Working paper finds the selection of a particular time horizon can have ‘considerable implications’ for the performance of economic variables in predicting bank crises
Third TLTRO sees extra €98 billion borrowed from ECB
Latest allocation of cheap loans pushes total amount borrowed to €310 billion; measures aimed at repairing transmission mechanism and encouraging loans to real economy
Protestors clash with police as ECB opens new premises
Demonstrations organised to coincide with inauguration of new ECB building lead to outbreaks of violence; Draghi calls for economics and politics of integration to be ‘reconciled’
Draghi wants shared sovereignty over structural reforms
ECB president fleshes out vision for ‘common governance’ of product and labour market reforms in the eurozone; advocates adopting an ‘institution-based approach’ to common governance
Cyprus governor 'will not resign' despite political pressure
Chrystalla Georghadji will continue exercising her duties as governor despite the Cypriot president ordering an investigation into what he perceives as a ‘conflict of interest’
ECB paper models Philips curve from professional forecasts
Working paper finds the curve consistent with professional forecasts has flattened since the financial crisis, with the relationship between inflation and unemployment weakening
ECB’s Mersch tells banks to take advantage of reforms
Banks should tap into the ‘sizeable’ opportunities offered by banking union, ECB executive board member says, which could help them provide more credit to SMEs