Europe
Bundesbank calls for harmonisation in CMU response
The Deutsche Bundesbank responds to the European Commission’s capital markets union proposals, calling for greater harmonisation and transparency but warning of burden
Policy-makers must drop ‘obsession’ with competitiveness, Cœuré says
Policy-makers must drop their ‘obsession’ with competitiveness and focus on increasing productivity instead, Benoît Cœuré says; researchers need to question assumptions of ‘conventional’ theory
EBA: European bank capital improving but concerns remain over profits and assets
European banks are improving their capital and leverage ratios but are suffering from low levels of profitability and problems with non-performing loans, transparency exercise finds
EC plans full eurozone deposit insurance by 2024
Proposals outline gradual introduction of common deposit insurance in the eurozone between 2017 and 2024; size of fund equivalent to 0.8% of covered deposits, estimated at €43bn
Eurozone banks face 'in-depth' scrutiny of risk handling, Nouy says
Banks’ handling of risk is being subjected to in-depth analysis by the ECB’s single supervisory mechanism, Danièle Nouy says
Central bankers must research QE’s effects on inequality, Italian deputy governor says
Central banks must improve their understanding of how expansionary monetary policy affects inequality in developed economies, says Fabio Panetta
Terror attacks may have made European capital revival harder, Visco says
Terror attacks may hinder revival of European Union’s rate of capital accumulation, Ignazio Visco tells audience in Paris; capital market reforms present tough long-term challenges
ECB’s Mersch explores construction of instant payments services
Yves Mersch says Eurosystem envisages services being constructed on scheme, clearing, and settlement layers, and considers challenges involved in each
Honohan sets out virtues of new crisis tools in final speech
Irish governor stresses potential of direct recapitalisation and GDP-linked loans to help bolster debt sustainability in crisis-hit countries; expects successor Lane to come in with ‘big broom’
Cyprus must make NPLs ‘number one priority’, international agencies say
Authorities must properly implement proposed loan reforms, joint statement says
Mersch considers unintended consequences of regulation
Eurozone policy-makers must be careful that their efforts to reform the financial sector do not create ‘new externalities’ risks for banks, says Yves Mersch of the ECB’s executive board
ECB aims for single policy on ‘options and discretions’ with new proposals
Central bank publishes draft documents aiming to create a single policy for the exercise of options and discretions under banking law in financial systems it regulates
Low rates from QE poses risks to some pension and insurance firms in eurozone, Visco warns
Pension funds and insurance companies in some eurozone countries may need to adjust their practices to limit the risks arising from asset purchases, Italian governor says
ECB publishes first quarterly statistical report on households
The European Central Bank publishes its first quarterly statistical report on the eurozone’s household sector; underlying figures available online in data warehouse
‘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
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 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
‘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