European Central Bank (ECB)
National Bank of Hungary, ECB banknotes agreement
Agreement has been concluded between the ECB and the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (National Central Bank of Hungary) in the areas of prevention and detection of counterfeiting of euro banknotes, 28 July.
ECB and acceding country central banks agreement
Template Agreement between the European Central Bank and The Acceding Country National Central Bank enhancing the cooperation between the ECB and the ACNCBs in the areas of prevention and detection of counterfeiting of euro banknotes, 28 July.
Europe cashes in on its forgotten money
European governments are rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of a windfall of up to €13 billion from their forgotten national currencies, CentralBankNet discovers in this week's Monday Special Feature. This is the amount of lire, guilder,…
McCreevy may seek cash from Irish central bank
The Central Bank of Ireland confirmed that its review of the adequacy of its reserves against guidelines set by the ECB will be completed over the next few months according to the Irish Times. The bank acknowledged in its 2002 annual report that any…
ECB's Issing - No risk of inflation or deflation
Neither deflation nor inflation present risks for the eurozone economy at the moment. That was the assessment of Otmar Issing on Wednesday 23 July, according to Reuters, but if deflationary concerns emerge the ECB is ready to take various preventive…
ECB stung by supreme court decision
The European Court of Justice has given the ECB a legal bloody nose in a case concerning how to combat fraud. In this weeks Special Feature CentralBankNet analyses the implications of the ECB's courtroom defeat.
Padoa-Schioppa at ECB Payments System conference
In the opening speech at the Committee of Payment and Settlement Systems Conference, Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa of the ECB said central banks need to co-operate with the private sector and particularly with the banks that are in business for profit, for the…
Greenspan: Risking it all for a legacy?
A State Street Investment Letter suggests that US inflation expectations are unambiguously on an upward trend and are being put at risk to preserve Alan Greenspan's legacy. It is with some irony, it says, that the next Federal Reserve Chairman is likely…
Snow lauds Trichet as superb choice for ECB chief
US Treasury Secretary John Snow met with Bank of France president, and ECB chief in waiting, Jean-Claude Trichet on Friday, according to a report by Agence France Presse. While not commenting on ECB monetary policy, Snow told a news conference that…
ECB's Welteke sees no reason to cut rates
In a television interview European Central Bank council member Ernst Welteke said "I see no need to act at the moment" on interest rates, theoretically we have room for manoeuvre", according to Bloomberg. He also said "there are a few signs of…
Papademos - ECB may have leeway for rate cuts
ECB Vice President Lucas Papademos told Corriere della Sera newspaper in an interview Friday that the economic situation had changed little since the ECB last cut its key interest rate in June and that "we might have room for manoeuvre in the future" if…
Solans on the structure of the financial system
In the speech 'Why does the structure of the financial system matter?' Eugenio Domingo Solans of the ECB said financial structures are crucial to the allocation of resources in a modern economy. They can be compared with a system of arterial circulation…
ATM figures show Spain top with 1,123 per million
Figures compiled jointly by the ECB and Bank of Israel show that Spain has the highest number of ATM's per capita while Italy made the highest withdrawals from ATM's at €163 per capita, Reuters reported.
ECB Monthly Bulletin, July 2003
The European Central Bank published its July 2003 Monthly Bulletin on 17 July. In the report the ECB said that abiding by the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact would help boost economic confidence in the euro area. The report also described interest…
French bank chief nominated to head ECB
Bank of France Governor Jean-Claude Trichet was nominated by EU finance ministers on Tuesday 15 July to replace Wim Duisenberg as president of the European Central Bank, Associated Press reports. The nomination will now be sent to the European Parliament…
Duisenberg on monetary and fiscal policy
In the speech 'Monetary and fiscal policy in the euro area' Wim Duisenberg of the ECB said that the macroeconomic policy framework in the euro area is appropriate to ensure sustained and non-inflationary economic growth. Fiscal policy should contribute…
ECOFIN to discuss Italian growth plan and Trichet
EU finance ministers will hold their first Council session under the Italian Presidency on 15 July, EurActiv reports. During the Euro group meeting on Monday, the ministers will launch proceedings to appoint Bank of France Governor Jean-Claude Trichet to…
Issing speech at the ECB Watchers Conference
In the speech 'ECB Watchers Conference: The evaluation of the strategy' Otmar Issing of the ECB said this meeting is a special one. In the course of the last year the ECB has launched, conducted and concluded an evaluation of its monetary policy strategy…
ECB press conference with questions and answers
At Thursday's ECB press conference Wim Duisneberg said that economic growth in the 12-country euro zone remained "subdued" in the second quarter of this year and there were no signs of a significant improvement in production and confidence. "The latest…
ECB's Duisenberg confirms 1 Nov retirement
At Thursday's ECB news conference Wim Duisenberg confirmed that he expects to hand over to Bank of France governor Jean-Claude Trichet on 1 November. Duisenberg said that he saw no risk that he will be regarded as a "lame duck" president during the…
Information Guide for institutions using TARGET
The European Central Bank published on 9 July a new edition of the "Information Guide for credit institutions using TARGET". This publication provides a standard set of information on TARGET functionality and answers the most frequently asked questions…
ECB holds interest rates steady
At Thursday's meeting the Governing Council of the ECB decided that the minimum bid rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 2.00%, 3.00% and 1.00%…
Dogfighting over the ECB
The European League for Economic Cooperation (ELEC) has issued aresolution betraying unease that appointments to the ECBexecutive board could degenerate into a more or less continuous politicaldogfight.
Padoa-Schioppa-Central banks & financial stability
In the speech 'Central banks and financial stability' given on 7 July Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa of the ECB said the conceptual framework for financial stability analysis, unlike that of monetary stability, is still being developed. Further work in this area…