European Central Bank (ECB)
European Court of Justice to rule on OMTs after German court ‘fudge'
German constitutional court finds ‘reasons to assume OMTs exceed the ECB's mandate', but asks Europe's top court in Luxembourg to take the final decision
ECB unveils ‘co-operation framework’ for SSM
European Central Bank outlines how it will co-operate with national authorities in the forthcoming single supervisor mechanism; proposals open to public consultation
ECB paper employs survey data to improve yield curve forecasts
Researchers find that survey expectations can be used to help model ‘dynamic behaviour’ of interest rate term structure
ECB holds rates despite continued disinflation
European Central Bank holds refinance rate at 0.25% and shuns additional policy instruments despite inflation falling to 0.7%; attention turns to updated and expanded staff forecasts in March
ECB reshuffles executive board
Benoît Coeuré takes over international and European relations; Yves Mersch inherits payments and market infrastructure; Vítor Constâncio gets macro-prudential policy
ECB releases AQR framework
Danièle Nouy and Vítor Constâncio outline the ‘building blocks’ of the asset quality review; say recruitment for the SSM is progressing ‘at full steam’
Eurozone crisis countries had to grasp the nettle of reform, says Cœuré
Delaying reforms until countries had emerged from the crisis would have been counterproductive, ECB board member says; effect of zero lower bound has been overstated, too
ECB working paper unpicks household demand for mortgage types
Paper comes to predicted conclusion that greater income volatility reduces demand for variable-rate mortgages; authors also reckon borrowers on variable rates benefited from lower rates
Draghi spells out QE possibilities
Mario Draghi says the European Central Bank could purchase banks' loans if they are packed in the ‘proper’ way, in contrast with market calls for GDP-weighted sovereign debt purchases
ECB demands ‘fast adoption’ of Sepa legislation
European Commission proposal to extend the deadline for Sepa migration by six months has caused ‘confusion’ in the markets, according to the ECB
ECB's Cœuré weighs pros and cons of central clearing
Executive board member touts benefits, including multilateral netting of exposures, but also warns that differences in regulation may lead to regulatory arbitrage and race to the bottom
Major central banks phase out dollar liquidity operations
ECB, BoE, BoJ and SNB will start scaling back the amount of dollar liquidity they offer to market participants in April in response to waning demand
Banks with more interbank relationships meet liquidity needs ‘more efficiently’, finds Bundesbank paper
Discussion paper examines the link between interbank relationships and liquidity needs, using data from German banks’ use of ECB main refinancing operations
Lautenschläger nominated as SSM vice-chair
The European Central Bank has nominated Sabine Lautenschläger as the vice-chair of the supervisory board; if appointed she will join Danièle Nouy at the top of the SSM
Cœuré wants to fast-track resolution fund
Benoît Cœuré calls for single resolution fund to be established within five years; Axel Weber predicts that some of the eurozone banks will fail the ECB’s asset-quality review
People: Zambian deputy retires; Lautenschläger appointed at ECB
Bank of Zambia and Bank of Nigeria lose deputy governors to the ministry of transport and retirement respectively; Sabine Lautenschläger will join the ECB executive board on January 27
ECB bulletin examines 'virtuous circle' in Chinese reforms
Research article published by the European Central Bank says there could be a ‘virtuous circle’ between reforms aimed at rebalancing China’s growth and those aimed at promoting the renminbi
People: Malta gets second deputy; Lautenschläger aces European Parliament test
Central Bank of Malta gets second deputy governor for first time; Lautenschläger wins overwhelming majority in European Parliament vote; and more
Mersch says ABS could help eurozone back to health
Addressing the Ifo Institute in Munich, ECB executive board member Yves Mersch said asset-backed securities have a bad reputation but a role to play in the European economic recovery
Trichet calls on Troika to ‘gradually disappear’
Former ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet defends the central bank’s role in the Troika; says the group should be phased out as policy-makers move away from curing crises and towards preventing them
Lautenschläger rejects German stereotypes as she closes in on ECB job
Sabine Lautenschläger tells the European Parliament she will not imitate either Weidmann or Asmussen if she is appointed to ECB’s executive board; calls for governing council to publish minutes
ECB unveils new €10 note
Yves Mersch presents the design of the new €10 banknote in Frankfurt; equipped with new security features to help keep rising counterfeit rates in check
Governor of the year: Mario Draghi
Unflappable conviction and outstanding leadership has enabled ECB president Mario Draghi to decisively restore confidence in crisis-hit Europe
ECB deflects parliament questions on troika
European Central Bank publishes response to a European Parliament questionnaire on the financial assistance programmes brokered by the troika; Irish governor praises ‘rigorous adherence’ to fiscal goals