European Central Bank (ECB)
ECB sticks to rates decision
SWITZERLAND - European Central Bank board member Eugenio Domingo Solans stressed the ECB's independence Monday and said it will not be pressured into cutting rates by political leaders in euro zone member states.
Bank of England is model for 'new' ECB
FRANCE - The path towards Britain's possible entry into the euro will be made much easier by a radical French plan for the European Central Bank to be reformed in the image of the Bank of England.
ECB president's wife cancels Israel visit
NETHERLANDS - Gretta Duisenberg, the wife of European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg, has cancelled a planned trip to Israel and the territories due to pressure from the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
ECB Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - At today'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 3.25%, 4.25…
ECB refuses to join Fed rate cut for now
GERMANY - The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged on Thursday, opting not to join the U.S. Federal Reserve in monetary easing aimed at propping up the faltering global economy.
Padoa-Schioppa on the euro and the role of ERM II
SPEECH - In the speech 'Trajectories towards the euro and the role of ERM II' made on 4 November, Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa of the ECB said ERM II should be seen as a meaningful framework within which to achieve further real and nominal convergence. In…
The ECB and Euro-Area Enlargement
RESEARCH - IMF Working Paper by Helge Berger, October 2002. The likely enlargement of euro-area membership will radically change the environment under which monetary policy will be made in the euro area. This paper looks at the consequences of such an…
The euro goes East
Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa reports the results of a survey by the ECB on the private holdings and use of the euro outside the euro area itself.
Issing on relationship lending in the euro area
SPEECH - In the speech 'Relationship lending in the euro area' made on 24 October, Otmar Issing of the ECB said recent trends in the European financial markets seem to have put pressure on banks, leading some of them to reduce the scale of their…
Don't use stability pact as scapegoat, says Issing
GERMANY - The chief economist of the European Central Bank launched a staunch defence of the euro area fiscal stability and growth pact on Monday, accusing politicians of using it as a "scapegoat" for their own failures.
Duisenberg on transforming the financial system
SPEECH - In the speech 'The transformation of the European financial system' made on 24 October, Wim Duisenberg of the ECB said developments such as the introduction of the euro have implications that are manifold and profound, in particular for central…
Financial structures in the euro area
REPORT - The European Central Bank (ECB) released a report on financial structures in the euro area on 25 October. The report describes the financial structure of the euro area as a whole and of the individual euro area countries, recent developments in…
Second ECB Central Banking Conference
CONFERENCE - The transformation of the European financial system, Frankfurt, 24 and 25 October 2002.
'Recovery may be slower' - ECB's Vanhala
GERMANY - European Central Bank (ECB) governing council member Matti Vanhala said Monday that the euro-zone economic recovery may be slower than expected, but an ECB rate cut was unlikely to boost demand significantly.
ECB takes authority over foreign currency reserves
GERMANY - The European Central Bank (ECB) confirmed Monday, the Irish Times reported, that it must give permission before any euro-zone state can raid its own foreign currency reserves to ease domestic borrowing requirements.
CentralBankNet Monday Special Feature
SPECIAL FEATURE - In this weeks special feature CentralBankNet looks at moves which could see a shake up in the way the ECB investigates fraud.
Gulf asks ECB to study benefits of GCC currency
OMAN - Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have entrusted the European Central Bank (ECB) to conduct a study on the modalities to be followed while integrating the economies of member countries and to switch over to a common currency, said the…
ECB Monthly Bulletin, October 2002
REPORT - The European Central Bank published its October 2002 Monthly Bulletin on 17 October. In the bulletin the ECB states that although liquidity is currently ample, there is a low risk of this translating into inflationary pressures in the near…
ECB source not aware of Duisenberg G7 rate comment
UK - A European Central Bank (ECB) source told Reuters on Thursday that he was not aware of ECB President Win Duisenberg's having told international financial leaders the central bank was ready to cut interest rates.
Wim Duisenberg on the prospects for EU enlargement
SPEECH - In the speech 'Perspectives on EU enlargement' made on 14 October Wim Duisenberg of the ECB said the prospect of EU accession has triggered reform in these countries with macroeconomic stability achieved through structural reforms. However,…
ECB rate cut not ruled out: Belgian board
BELGIUM - Belgian national bank chief Guy Quaden, a member of the European Central Bank board, declined Tuesday to rule out an ECB interest rate cut.
ECB Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Mr. de Beaufort Wijnholds appointed as permanent representative of the European Central Bank in Washington, D.C. with observer status at the International Monetary Fund, 10 October 2002.
How fiscal and monetary policy stifle the eurozone
ARTICLE - For Wim Duisenberg yesterday (10 October), attack was the best form of defence. Explaining the European Central Bank's decision to leave interest rates unchanged at 3.25 per cent, despite the dark clouds gathering over Europe's economy and…
Duisenberg on the integration of financial markets
SPEECH - In a speech titled 'The integration of Europe's financial markets' Duisenberg said that after the successful introduction of the euro progress in financial integration took place with the safe establishment of the unified unsecured money market…