Eurozone
Central Bank of Ireland annual report sees assets drop and profits rise
Recovery in Irish economy in 2012 led to lower reliance on US dollar liquidity and continued increase in central bank profits; governor urges continued commitment from external stakeholders
ECB says ‘difficult to do more’ as pressure mounts for more action
Further deterioration in eurozone data leads some to predict ECB rate cut at May meeting and possible SME ‘support package’; ECB executives signal action still unlikely
ECB’s Cœuré says cashless society is neither likely nor desirable
Executive board member believes cash is too popular to phase out, but should be made more efficient; €5 note awareness campaign shows mixed results
Bank of Italy research finds evidence of investors ‘waking up’ to sovereign risk
Working paper suggests widening eurozone sovereign spreads caused by ‘complacent’ investors suddenly paying closer attention to risks
NY Fed president dispenses policy advice to European and US governments
William Dudley tells European policy-makers that moving forward with banking union is critical, while the US government should be worrying more about its fiscal outlook
ECB’s Asmussen deflects criticism over lack of monetary policy action
ECB executive board member says quantitative easing would not work well applied to Europe; stresses continued political commitment to banking union
Netherlands Bank highlights ‘major risk’ of European crisis escalating
Financial stability report says danger from European debt crisis still looms large; warns of longer-term risks including addiction to low interest rates and incomplete banking union
Eurozone problems still ‘looming large’, says Draghi
ECB president Mario Draghi says ECB’s policy not affecting all eurozone countries; central bank cannot tackle root causes of crisis and urges improved competitiveness
Ireland’s financial regulator quits central bank
Deputy governor for financial regulation announces departure to ‘pursue other interests’; term spanned turbulent period for Ireland’s economy
Bank of Spain reshapes supervisor to meet new demands
Banking supervision directorate restructured to meet the requirements of Spain’s memorandum of understanding and the move to European banking union
ECB threatens to cut off liquidity support to Cyprus
Governing council says no more emergency liquidity will be provided to Cypriot banks if a deal is not reached by Monday; negotiations continue and banks will remain closed into next week
Sepa migration at risk due to poor preparedness, says ECB
First progress report expresses alarm at some companies planning to migrate very close to deadline; payments could be disrupted if deadline missed, but Benoît Cœuré says ‘there is no plan B’
Dombret warns national banking systems are too-big-to-fail
Bundesbank’s Andreas Dombret says too-big-to-fail problem extends to whole banking systems; says some eurozone systems could have to be downsized
Central Bank of Cyprus governor tells government to scrap small-depositor levy
Panicos Demetriades says government should apply heavier haircut to depositors above €100,000 threshold and spare those below; predicts run when banks re-open on Thursday
T2S chief warns regulatory inaction could damage harmonisation process
Jean-Michel Godeffroy says CSD regulation must be passed this year to avoid harmonisation delays; conference panellists raise concerns over costs, limited participation and financial transaction tax
Robert Pringle’s Viewpoint: Wider lessons of the Cyprus bail-out
The clumsy attempts to resolve a banking crisis in Cyprus underline the need to make more rapid progress on wider issues afflicting much larger financial markets in Europe
Eurozone rocked by Cypriot depositor haircut plan
Markets take a hit, peripheral bond yields rise and commentators raise fears of contagious bank runs as Cypriot parliament debates plans to take 6.75% haircut from ‘insured’ depositors
IMF urges ‘more forceful action’ to end Europe’s woes
Report on European financial stability says situation remains ‘tenuous’ in eurozone; calls on authorities to act fast to repair balance sheets and set up banking union
Nalm 2013: Delegates debate reigniting European ABS market
Participants at Central Banking event discuss mechanisms to get European financial markets off life support; particular focus on asset-backed securities
ECB’s Cœuré says financial fragmentation ‘remains high’
Executive board member Benoît Cœuré highlights evidence of receding fragmentation in the eurozone but warns overall level still too high
Central banks ‘are not done easing yet’, says Morgan Stanley chief economist
US investment bank’s Joachim Fels says central banks are entering into a third stage of monetary easing; eurozone growth forecast cut to -0.7%
T2S programme hit by delays with costs set to soar
Europe’s new securities settlement system, Target2-Securities, faces tough implementation schedule, say Clearstream and Euroclear officials; ECB reaffirms commitment to price plan and timescale
ECB’s LTROs contribute to 12% drop in repo transactions
Icma report warns ‘abundant’ liquidity provided by ECB’s long-term refinancing operations is undermining the repo market in Europe; notes signs of increased risk appetite
Irish paper finds more spending could help government’s ‘precarious’ finances
Central Bank of Ireland research technical paper suggests country’s close sovereign-bank link means government spending to reduce mortgage arrears will have a greater effect than previously thought