Germany
Peter Praet on Europe’s Covid-19 responses
Former ECB chief economist discusses stability, negative rates, common debt and improving the EMU
Coronavirus panic fuels a surge in cash demand
Evidence of hoarding in Australia, Brazil, Canada, the eurozone, Russia and the US
NGFS offers concrete next steps to assess climate vulnerabilities
New climate risk scenarios to be adopted by BoE and Buba
Bafin says it did not supervise scandal-hit Wirecard
Official tells Central Banking he is “not aware” of any agency supervising firm implicated in fraud
German regulator faces questions after Wirecard admits huge possible fraud
Bafin brought criminal complaint against journalists who alleged wrongdoing at German company
Weidmann to testify quarterly in parliament to explain ECB policy
Measure follows constitutional court ruling requiring ECB to demonstrate proportionality of government bond purchases
Lagarde welcomes Franco-German fund plan
Covid-19 response fund would be drawn from common EU budget
The ECB, the lockdown and the monetary financing lock
Eurozone’s central bank may need to break its prohibition on monetary financing to fight pandemic
German banks’ capital levels affect loan supply – Bundesbank paper
Authors find balance sheet data shows loan supply has positive elasticity to capital levels
German court leaves Bundesbank caught between two legal decisions
Ruling may hamper ECB’s new PEPP programme as it is not constrained by PSPP limits
German court rules ECB must provide more evidence on PSPP
Judges strongly criticise ECJ’s ruling on QE programme, but stop short of declaring it unlawful
Debts, deficits, central banks and inflation
What insights can history provide for central banks hit by large rises in government debt?
Individual German banks at risk from interbank shocks, paper finds
Bundesbank paper presents simulation method for analysing interbank markets
El-Erian on Covid-19 policy risks, ‘zombie’ markets and central bank capture
Former Pimco chief says Fed has gone too far, market function rules needed and chance opens for shared policy load
Transfer season
Trade frictions with the US have caused a mass industrial transfer to China’s neighbours. Zhou Chengjun, IFF Academic Committee member and inspector of the Macro‑prudential Policy Bureau of the People’s Bank of China, says that shouldn’t stop China…
Lagarde misstep overshadows ‘bold’ measures, analysts say
ECB president seemed to have hampered governments’ debt financing at a critical juncture
How could the coronavirus affect the world economy?
Central banks may lack firepower, while public health readiness differs sharply between countries
Do low rates spur investment?
Former IMF head writes there is little hard evidence that low interest rates spur investment
German house prices rise by slowest rate since 2014 – Bundesbank
Housing prices continue to rise but at slower rate, especially in major cities
Schnabel takes on Germany’s ‘false narratives’ on ECB policy
Criticism based on “half-truths” imperils trust in single monetary policy and “undermines European cohesion”
ECB monetary policy was weakened by regulation – Bundesbank paper
Tighter regulation reduced lending by weakly-capitalised banks from 2008 to 2018 – researchers
Lifetime achievement award: Otmar Issing
Architect of euro’s framework still playing important role in shaping debate on monetary policy
Watch out for Brexit cliff edge 2.0, experts warn
Measures to mitigate a sharp rupture for financial services could be less likely at end-2020
Book notes: The long journey of central bank communication, by Otmar Issing
This book is a “masterly exposition on central bank communication, its evolution and continuing challenges”