Eurozone
Book notes: Shutdown, by Adam Tooze
A useful, wide-ranging overview, showing how health and economic policies are intimately intertwined with geopolitics
Markus Brunnermeier on the need for CBDCs
The Princeton academic co-authored a paper for the European Parliament exploring the potential pitfalls of CBDCs. But they are still needed, he says
Commodity prices rise sharply after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Energy prices already account for around 50% of headline inflation in the eurozone
Change at the Bundesbank: from Weidmann to Nagel?
Joachim Nagel’s appointment highlights the importance of politics at the apex of German central banking. Veteran central bank watcher Klaus C Engelen looks at the media reaction and asks if Buba/ECB discord is set to continue
Croatian central bank denies allegations against governor
Financial supervisor is investigating media claims of insider dealing by central bank staff
2021: The year in review
The year has seen central banks switch from recovery mode to battling inflation. Central Banking looks back at the stories that made the biggest impact in 2021
German government names Nagel as new Bundesbank governor
Social Democratic party member is longstanding central banker and voiced scepticism over QE
Podcast: Oliver Wünsch on a solution to eurozone fragmentation risks
A common fiscal authority could offer stability, but would require sharing more sovereignty
Labour market changes key to inflation – BIS’s Shin
Central banks may face “race against time” to prevent wage-price spiral, says Hyun Song Shin
Tackling surging inflation
Central banks around the world are grappling with rapid price rises, with some taking very different routes to one another
Eurozone inflation hits record high of 4.9%
ECB expected to clarify the future of its stimulus programme on December 16
Book notes: Monetary policy in times of crisis, by Massimo Rostagno et al
A mass of intellectual effort gives rare insights into the ECB’s inner working, but fails to fully address questions about who really controls inflation
Reforming FX reserve and macroeconomic management for ESG
Arnab Das, global market strategist, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, at Invesco explores why central banks must play a role in ESG risk mitigation, management and prevention, as they are expected to during wars, pandemics and other major shocks.
‘Say what?’ Trust in central bank communications
Central banks are changing how they communicate with different audiences, but judging the success of these communication efforts is difficult
Forecaster surveys improve eurozone inflation modelling – ECB paper
Households’ and firms’ expectations do not provide useful data on inflation
Securities lending prevalent in European central banks
Monetary policy, market maturity and currency variation may limit adoption in other regions
SSM reduced large eurozone banks’ risk-taking – ECB paper
Reduced credit risk was driven by supranational authority’s greater efficiency, authors argue
Goodhart, Gopinath and Lippi disagree on inflation
Central banks lack tools to deal with inflation, Goodhart warns, but IMF chief economist disagrees
ECB climate stress test reveals uneven risks across eurozone
First step in ‘climate roadmap’ assesses 1,600 banks and over four million firms
ECB’s stress capital buffer still a ‘black box’ – banks
National regulators retain wide latitude to set Pillar 2 Guidance under new rules
NPLs down in nearly 70% of jurisdictions, despite Covid-19
Lower income nations hit harder than most during past five years; Asia, Africa and Americas NPLs on different trajectory to Europe
People: ECB appoints director-general for international relations
Vansteenkiste replaces veteran Klöckers; head of IMF’s capacity development institute retires
Press conferences tend to be held for every monetary policy decision
The events can be a valuable tool for policy transparency and clarity
Lending rate rigidity weakens eurozone monetary policy – BdF paper
Asymmetric costs in changing bank lending reduce effects of looser policy