European Central Bank (ECB)
Minutes show ECB happy to ‘look through’ volatility
Governing council carefully considered market volatility including the increase in government bond yields in June meeting, concluding it had not ‘materially altered’ economic outlook
Varoufakis to stand down if Greeks vote 'Yes'
Greek finance minister says he will quit if the public votes to accept the latest terms offered to Greece in the July 5 referendum; demands debt restructuring as part of any deal
Greek PM offers concessions but backs referendum
Leaked letter suggests Alex Tsipras is willing to accept many of the latest proposals in exchange for a new bailout programme; European leaders awaiting outcome of July 5 referendum
Eurogroup calls emergency conference as Greece turns to ESM for help
Greece asks for two-year bailout programme from European Stability Mechanism, triggering yet another emergency Eurogroup meeting; ECB’s Cœuré admits exit from the euro is now possible
Juncker tells Greece to vote ‘yes’ in referendum
European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker calls on Greeks to vote in favour of latest proposals, urging them not to ‘commit suicide because one is afraid of death’
Greek banks shut for a week as ECB freezes emergency fund
Banks closed and ATM withdrawals capped after the ECB's governing council freezes the supply of emergency liquidity; Greek government calls referendum on latest proposals for July 5
ECB research flags signs of Spanish decoupling
Recent recessions appear to have caused Spain’s economy to diverge from those of other major eurozone countries, working paper warns
Schäuble says Greek outcome now '50-50'
German finance minister warns against losing the ‘remaining credibility’ of the monetary union in speech in Frankfurt; debt negotiations finely poised with IMF deadline looming
Weidmann leads support for capital markets union
Bundesbank president says bank-based and market-based finance can be ‘complementary’, while Iosco secretary-general urges Europe to move quickly
ECB’s Constâncio calls for eurozone to cut back on debt
ECB vice-president says deleveraging has proceeded slowly so far due to growth concerns; emphasises debt reduction ought to be done using diverse measures, but says primary surpluses are key
Negative deposit rate ‘turbocharges’ QE, economists say
Former ECB board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi says negative rate ‘creates a multiplier effect’ that boosts impact of QE, a view shared by other panellists at Frankfurt conference
Weidmann warns Greek ELA could raise ‘serious monetary financing concerns’
Bundesbank president says the ongoing provision of emergency funds to Greek banks will be a problem if the cash is used to buy sovereign debt
Radical rethink of central banking is still possible
Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz's call for central banking to be "reinvented" is a timely reminder that others need to heed
Greece closer to default as creditors throw out latest proposals
Leaked copy of counterproposal by Greece’s creditors complete with red-inked changes shows agreement as far away as ever, with less than a week until major IMF repayment
ECB welcomes ‘smooth’ T2S launch
Culmination of seven-year process sees first four CSDs migrate to the new platform and settle the first transactions, despite fears over remaining bugs
Eurogroup president looking for Greece deal ‘in next couple of days’
Jeroen Dijsselbloem says new Greek proposals are a ‘positive step in the process’ of the bailout review in a short press conference; government heads next to meet in Brussels
European presidents publish road map to closer union
Mario Draghi among senior officials to contribute to report calling for greater economic convergence, financial integration and ultimately more shared decision-making on fiscal policy
ECB paper tests systemic risk using ‘VAR for VaR’ model
Researchers use quantile regression in attempt to better account for outliers, which they say could have applications for stress testing
Eurozone recovery set to broaden, says ECB bulletin
Report presents growing body of good news for most eurozone economies as wages and consumption rise, inflation bottoms out and investment begins to return
ECB’s Mersch dismisses concerns over T2S launch at weekend
ECB executive board member admits a few bugs remain in Target2 Securities system, but argues they are not major and will not interrupt this weekend’s migration
Overconfident forecasters may be ‘overrepresented’ in ECB survey
Working paper finds participation in the Survey of Professional Forecasters drops when uncertainty rises, suggesting the results may be biased
EU court rules OMTs are legal
ECB is vindicated as ECJ rules in favour of crisis measure that would see the central bank buy potentially unlimited amounts of sovereign debt to protect ‘singleness’ of monetary policy
IMF's Blanchard urges compromise in Greek negotiations
Both sides need to make tough choices but more funding and some form of debt relief necessary, says IMF chief economist; Mario Draghi emphasises need for long-term EU institutional change
Draghi defends ‘distributional consequences’ of QE
ECB president suggests easy monetary policy will benefit all citizens in the longer run; economists describe impact on inequality as “ambiguous” in research prepared for Econ Committee