European Central Bank (ECB)
Former Polish minister against super regulator
In an interview for the Parkiet daily, the former head of the Polish Securities and Exchange Commission (KPWiG) and treasury minister in Marek Belka's government, Jacek Socha, assessed the Polish financial market as not mature enough to introduce…
Developing corporate bond markets in Asia
Thirty participants including high-level officials from central banks in Asia and the Pacific, the European Central Bank and the BIS took part in the BIS/PBC seminar held in Kunming, China on 17-18 November 2005.
ECB Monthly Bulletin, February 2006
The European Central Bank published its February 2006 Monthly Bulletin on Thursday. In the report the ECB said it sees tentative signs that the euro zone housing market is becoming overvalued following recent sharp price rises in some countries.
Euro group set to nominate Buba's Stark to ECB
Eurozone finance ministers are set to nominate Bundesbank vice-president Juergen Stark next week for the European Central Bank executive board post, an EU official told reporters Thursday 9 February.
Issing says ECB ready to act on inflation risks
European Central Bank Chief Economist Otmar Issing said the bank is not necessarily embarking on a predetermined course of raising interest rates successively but that it is ready to act to contain higher inflationary risks.
Translation backlogs could delay Basel II
Delays in translating new banking rules into the European Union's 20 official languages must not jeopardise the introduction of the changes, a senior banking regulator said on Wednesday, 8 February.
Trichet on the benefits of flexibility
In this speech given at the Institute of Economic Affairs in London on February 6, 2006, the president of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, outlined three main reasons why structural reforms across Europe need to speeded up.
Interview with ECB's Bini Smaghi
In a recent interview, Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, said that unless private consumption picks up there will be no sustained growth. The high price of oil is an important factor, as it is taking away…
Trichet says rate hike expectations 'reasonable'
European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet told a press conference on Thursday 2 February that markets' near-term expectations for ECB interest rates are 'reasonable'.
Draghi flies a different course
Italy has all it needs to resolve its own problems and can look towards a bright future, Bank of Italy Governor Mario Draghi said on Thursday 2 February. Draghi also emphasised he would take a different approach to that of former governor Antonio Fazio.
Comment: Trichet's new strategy
Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), on Thursday 2 February cemented expectations of a 25 basis point rate hike next month. The manner in which he has gone about flagging the move underlines the central bank's new…
Comment: Talking points in January
January has been an eventful month in central banking circles. Debate intensified at the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan over their monetary policy frameworks, while the Bank of Italy and the State Bank of Pakistan saw new governors taking office…
Trichet renews call for eurozone reforms
Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, urged euro zone governments to speed up structural reforms of their labour markets and welfare systems, telling a conference in Davos on Saturday that it was the best way to ensure economic…
Third Euro-Mediterranean central bank seminar
The third Euro-Mediterranean seminar, which brings together Eurosystem and non-euro area Mediterranean central banks, was jointly organised by the Bank of Greece and the European Central Bank and held in Nafplion on 25 January.
Bank interest rate pass-through in the euro area
The European Central Bank Working Paper 'Bank interest rate pass-through in the euro area: a cross country comparison' investigates the pass-through between market interest rates and bank interest rates in the euro area.
Bini Smaghi calls for excess liquidity halt
Central banks must act in a timely way to halt excess liquidity, a senior European Central Bank official said in the advance release of a newspaper interview Wednesday 25 January.
Netherlands' Zalm warns on ECB rate comments
Dutch finance minister Gerrit Zalm has warned euro group finance ministers not to make public comments on the European Central Bank's monetary policy.
Stark the 'only candidate' for ECB post
Germany's Juergen Stark is the "only candidate" for the European Central Bank's executive board, according to the head of the eurozone group of finance ministers.
ECB's Trichet on euro area structural reforms
In the speech 'Growth performance, labour productivity and structural reforms in the euro area', given on 20 January Jean-Claude Trichet of the ECB said that when looking at the necessary structural reforms in Europe the key word is "flexibility".
IMF's Rajan sees a very promising 2006
The International Monetary Fund's Chief Economist on Friday 20 January predicted better global economic growth in 2006 but warned the European Central Bank against raising interest rates too quickly.
ECB Monthly Bulletin, January 2006
The European Central Bank published its January 2006 Monthly Bulletin on Thursday 19 January. In the report the ECB said its interest rates remain low and it is therefore keeping a close eye on inflation risks in the euro zone.
ECB's Issing sees no let up in euro zone growth
European Central Bank chief economist Otmar Issing told a conference on Wednesday 18 January that there are no signs that euro zone growth is slowing.
Bini Smaghi says rate to rise if justified by data
European Central Bank board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said on Wednesday 18 January that the ECB will raise its interest rates if new economic data justifies this move.
ECB's Tumpel-Gugerell optimistic on growth
European Central Bank executive board member Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell said on Tuesday 17 January prospects for economic growth across the eurozone are improving.