European Central Bank (ECB)
ECB: financial distress levels higher in Northern European countries
ECB paper finds financial distress is dependent on the relative indebtedness of households and mortgage market size
$500 billion reserve drain made crisis worse: IMF’s Ferhani
Deputy director says IMF research shows central bank reserve managers withdrew $500 billion from deposits at commercial banks during crisis
ECB in about-turn on collateral rules
Move reflects concern over Greece; Trichet says graded haircut system set to be introduced
Central banks should oversee systemic risk
CentralBanking.com poll shows majority of respondents think central banks together with government bodies should be responsible for monitoring systemic risk
Merkel and central bankers clash over Greek fix
Bundesbank shows reluctance to back Merkel; ECB president Trichet pushes for European rescue fund to aid beleaguered eurozone members
Extra-euro trade growth tops intra-euro trade
Latest trade consistency exercise shows that Extra-euro dominates intra-euro growth in the last decade.
King sees “room for improvement” in Bank’s communication
Bank of England governor Mervyn King defends the central bank’s fan charts, which have drawn criticism, but says it can still refine the communication of its forecasts
ECB’s Stark contests IMF paper
Jürgen Stark argues that an inflation target at the 4% level would do more harm than good
ECB to assist Bosnia’s bid for EU accession
European Central Bank will help Bosnian central bank improve key areas such as statistics and research to prepare for the country’s accession to the European Union
ECB’s Stark: global economy is heading for lost decade
Jürgen Stark says failure to learn from the crisis would result in anaemic global growth for the next ten years
ECB: current rates remain appropriate
The latest information from the European Central Bank confirms that the economic recovery in the euro area is on track but is likely to remain uneven
Trichet keeps open mind on European Fund
European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet says more details must emerge before making a firm decision for or against a European monetary fund
ECB names new statistics head
European Central Bank says Aurel Schubert of the Austrian central bank will be the new chief of its statistics directorate
ECB surplus drops more than 16%
European Central Bank reports a €2.218 billion surplus, and a €2.25 billion profit, pinning fall in interest income to low rates on dollar assets
Austria’s Nowotny: power of rating agencies unacceptable
National Bank of Austria’s Ewald Nowotny says agencies’ role in fate of Greece too great
Real-time output gap estimates unreliable: ECB paper
European Central Bank paper finds that real-time estimations of the difference between actual and potential GDP cannot be trusted in several respects
ECB – Monetary developments in the euro area (January)
European Central Bank statistics show broad money in the eurozone grew modestly in January
ECB’s Stark rejects calls for higher inflation target
Senior European Central Bank official pans IMF chief economist’s suggestions of a higher inflation target
Draghi moves to clarify Greek-swap role
Bank of Italy governor not involved in under-fire Greek swap deals; moves to justify Italian transactions
Europe works to cut banks’ reporting burden
The European Central Bank and Committee of European Banking Supervisors publish a system that will eliminate double reporting and improve quality of data
Constâncio made new ECB vice president
Bank of Portugal’s governor to succeed Papademos, former research head seen as possible replacement
Germans in favour of kicking Greece out: poll
Survey in leading newspaper shows 53% of Germans think Greece should be kicked out of the eurozone if its debt troubles cannot be resolved, 67% want no part in a bail-out
ECB beefs up financial stability wing
European Central Bank readies itself for the establishment of European Systemic Risk Board; appoints director general
Monthly bulletin (February) – ECB
ECB’s second monthly bulletin of the year shows a shift away from broad money, both into longer-term assets and narrow money