Germany
Short-sale disclosure rules can distort securities prices, Bundesbank paper says
European Union transparency conditions may have led to distortions in the prices of German securities by deterring short-sellers, discussion paper argues
Irish paper proposes three-phase model of volatility in bond markets
Irish paper finds ‘good’, ‘bad’ and ‘ugly’ phases in eurozone sovereign debt markets from 2003 to 2014; crisis not caused by changes to the shock mechanism, but by pre-existing cross-country links
German Constitutional Court rules in favour of ECB programme
Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court rules ECB may undertake outright monetary transactions, but sets strict conditions to be monitored by the German government
Dombret flags demographic concerns in Tokyo speech
Bundesbank board member draws parallel between Germany and Japan as he notes risks to potential growth rate; stresses need for “growth-enhancing measures”
Further key decisions loom in Greek negotiations
Major decisions remain in negotiations over bail-out; IMF staff insist on cuts to primary surplus target that have met with opposition; ECB may restore eligibility of Greek bonds as collateral
Greek deal unlocks funds but delays debt relief
Deal allows possibility of future debt relief but drops IMF’s stronger demands; pushes most difficult decisions back
Germany needs structural surplus, Weidmann says
Bundesbank president counters arguments Germans are saving too much; says treatment of eurozone sovereigns must change, at odds with Bank of Italy governor
Eurozone finance ministers hold extraordinary meeting over Greece
Finance ministers meet in Brussels over Greek debt; recent negotiations marked by public disagreements between IMF and Greek government
German supervisors need more granular data – IMF staff
Staff say concerns about a housing bubble “look premature” but better data would help the authorities be prepared for imbalances; urge faster progress on structural reforms
People: Nagel leaves Bundesbank; GIC makes string of appointments
Joachim Nagel steps down from Deutsche Bundesbank executive board; Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund creates new posts and fills others; East African Community gets new secretary-general
Draghi points to savings glut in some eurozone countries
Germany and others are contributing to a global savings glut, Draghi argues; renews call for structural reform and rejects appeals to curtail monetary expansion
EBA publishes first complete list of European O-SIIs
European Banking Authority publishes first full list of other systemically important institutions in Europe; some national supervisors make more use of discretion than others
Draghi warns criticism of monetary policy may delay recovery
Mario Draghi says some politicians' criticisms of ECB policy might delay eurozone recovery; says easing policies are working but need time to bring about recovery
Four largest eurozone economies show different reactions to monetary policy, paper finds
The economies of Germany, France, Italy and Spain show marked differences in responding to policy rate rises, researchers argue
Bundesbank publishes data on German ‘closed-end’ investment funds
Deutsche Bundesbank begins publishing data on German ‘closed-end’ investment funds; sector had total assets of €82.4bn in January 2016, with nearly half of investments in property market
Germans have unexplained high cash preference – Bundesbank article
Germans have a much higher tendency to use cash for larger transactions, article in a first edition of a new Bundesbank publication says
Small and medium eurozone banks must assess business models, Lautenschläger says
Smaller financial institutions need to examine their business models in detail, eurozone regulator says; SSM wants harmonised treatment of institutional protection schemes
ECB’s liquidity provision had ‘highly uneven effects’ on interbank markets, paper argues
ECB emergency liquidity provision had very different effects on stressed and non-stressed interbank lending markets; paper reconstructs interbank lending from Target2 database
German constitutional court to rule on OMT ‘in a few months’
Germany’s constitutional court is reviewing the European Central Bank’s outright monetary transactions and their application under German law; decision expected 'in a few months'
Bundesbank over halfway towards gold repatriation goal
Deutsche Bundesbank repatriated 210 tonnes of gold in 2015, it says; 41% of gold reserves now housed in Frankfurt
Lagarde nominated for second term as IMF head
Christine Lagarde is backed by UK and Germany for a second term as managing director when her first expires in July; the International Monetary Fund launches the selection process
Bundesbank paper explores interbank market functionality during crisis
The German interbank market did not fail, per se, in the 2007-8 financial crisis, a Bundesbank discussion paper argues; bank fundamentals determined ability to roll over interbank positions
Weidmann calls for ‘truly independent’ fiscal council
Jens Weidmann says there are shortcomings with existing proposals for the body, including the absence of a ‘comply-or-explain’ approach
Historical data supports fiscal theory of the price level, Bundesbank paper argues
Data from the US, Germany and Italy give policy-makers useful data on the long-term influence of fiscal policy on inflation, a Bundesbank discussion paper argues