European Central Bank (ECB)
‘Closed’ nature of eurozone banks increases vulnerability, Portuguese paper says
Commercial banks in the eurozone are more likely to be hit by country-specific shocks compared to US given fewer foreign branches; greater use of asset-backed securities may be a solution
Europe lags US in leading global financial reform, economist says at ECB event
The European Union no longer leads global efforts at financial reform, argues French economist Nicolas Véron; eurozone nations have too many seats on global reform bodies, he adds
Asset purchases having ‘sizeable’ impact on prices in eurozone, ECB paper finds
Working paper says ostensibly puzzling result can be explained by low levels of ‘market distress’ weakening some transmission channels but bolstering others
EBA unveils plans for 2016 stress tests
European Banking Authority publishes draft guidelines for stress-testing systemically important banks; some 53 banks will be tested from February 2016
Europe would benefit from more centralised macro-prudential tools, says ECB vice-president
Macro-prudential regulation of housing sector successful in UK, and the SSM should be in a position to set similar policy in the eurozone, Constâncio says
Eurozone macro-prudential policy should be ‘streamlined’, says Belgian director
Mathias Dewatripont praises shared responsibility as a ‘clever idea’ at ECB forum, but acknowledges this ‘leads to some complex procedures’
Constâncio: ECB working to overcome stress test limitations
Current ECB stress tests have multiple limitations including some macro-prudential considerations, ECB vice-president says
ECB assessment finds capital shortfall at four largest Greek banks
European Central Bank banking supervision uncovered ‘adverse case’ capital shortfalls of €14.4 billion at Greece’s four largest banks; recapitalisation plans needed by November 6
ECB to log bank loans to firms above €25,000 from 2018
New system will log all loans by eurozone commercial banks to firms above a value of €25,000 starting in March 2018; ‘AnaCredit’ likely to expand coverage to natural persons
Eurozone banking sector less reliant on central bank funding, ECB report says
Commercial banks relied less on central bank financing in 2014 and only achieved ‘moderate’ extension of credit; shadow banking sector becomes increasingly important
Europe should adopt expansionary fiscal policy, Fed's Stanley Fischer says
The ECB must continue with its ‘courageous’ supervisory and monetary policies, but they would be stronger if backed by an expansionary fiscal policy, says Stanley Fischer
Countries under credit stress should ‘front-load’ fiscal consolidation, says ECB paper
Front-loading will bring confidence effects, the working paper suggests
Tightening bank loans explains much of ‘Great Recession’ in eurozone
Tightening bank loans and increases in bond premia explain much of the recent contraction in the eurozone, paper argues
‘First empirical survey of European forbearance’ uses asset quality review data
Weak macroeconomic conditions, supervisory regimes and the weakness of individual banks drive the amount of forbearance on loans practised by European banks, working paper argues
ECB sparks bank tug-of-war over debt eligibility
The European Central Bank may force local regulators to choose whether banks can use senior debt for TLAC or to access its liquidity programme – setting G-Sibs against regional banks
ECB working paper links tight credit conditions to large investment cancellations
Industries most reliant on bank debt in eurozone worst hit by negative bank credit supply shocks, ECB paper finds
Eurozone prices to rise in the long term, survey of forecasters says
The eurozone’s long-term inflation rate will rise, and GDP will grow ‘gradually’, professional forecasters tell ECB survey; falling energy prices expected to push short-term inflation down
Draghi sets stage for December easing
Governing council could adjust asset purchases or cut rates further at next meeting, ECB president says; staff tasked with examining different options as they were before QE launch
Macro-prudential measures may restrict financial integration, ECB paper says
Macro-prudential policies may partly explain recent fall in European and global financial integration, paper argues
Eurozone monetary policy works through credit channel, paper argues
Strong evidence eurozone monetary policy works through the credit channel rather than the interest rate channel, paper says; unconventional monetary policy strongest in crisis
Central banks starting to unlock potential in big data
Some central banks are making tentative inroads into the study of big data, and many more want to, a study by the BIS’s Irving Fisher Committee finds
ECB paper explores fiscal adjustment in stressed countries
Fiscal corrections have been ‘more costly’ in contractionary times in Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain over the past 50 years, paper suggests
Eurosystem to consider Target2 and T2S merger
Yves Mersch says officials will look into the potential for consolidating some components of the payments and securities settlement services; potential for one unified platform
ECB appoints Michael Diemer as first chief services officer
The European Central Bank has created a new post of chief services officer to co-ordinate all administrative, IT and human resources issues