European Central Bank (ECB)
Weidmann: Eurosystem has 'stretched its mandate' to contain crisis
Bundesbank president says mismatch of control and liability is diminishing the responsibility of individual states and transferring the consequences of failure onto the European community
ECB’s Cœuré says it is time to think about exit from unconventional policies
Executive board member says time is not yet right to start withdrawing extra liquidity provision, but such policies cannot be kept in place forever
ECB lifts ban on Cypriot ‘junk' bond eligibility
Rule suspension allows Cypriot government-issued or guaranteed debt instruments to be used as collateral in Eurosystem operations; follows precedent set for Greece in September 2012
ECB paper builds eurozone financial conditions indexes
Researchers confirm financial conditions differed across the eurozone before and after the crisis; gap shrinks when monetary policy variables are included in indexes
ECB cuts rates and sets up ‘task force' seeking to promote SME lending
European Central Bank cuts benchmark rate from 0.75% to 0.5% by a majority decision; Mario Draghi says has set up a ‘joint task force' with the EIB to examine ways of promoting business lending
Weak eurozone data add weight to ECB rate cut talk
Expectations of a rate cut mount as unemployment and inflation figures disappoint, although many question whether lower interest rates would have a significant impact
Gieve calls for BoE leading role in European diplomacy
Former deputy governor of the Bank of England says London is not in mortal danger from European regulation, but the UK central bank should play more of a leading role in negotiations with the ECB
Czech central bank opposed to joining banking union
Vice-governor says Czech National Bank will recommend staying out of SSM; ECB's Asmussen calls on non-eurozone countries to decide by July
ECB researchers analyse expert forecasters' predictive abilities
Working paper aims to find where the value lies in the ECB's Survey of Professional Forecasters
IMF calls for unconventional measures to tackle eurozone fragmentation
David Lipton says ECB will probably have to use unconventional measures to overcome credit crunch in peripheral eurozone members
ECB annual report strikes hopeful note at end of rough year
Report highlights peak in financial market stress in mid-year, but says policy measures were effective in reducing this later in year; inflation above target and growth on downward slide
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
ECB paper seeks to boost predictive power of macroeconomic models
Research analyses and seeks to supplement the predictive power of the three main families of macroeconomic models – DFM, DSGE and VAR – used by central banks
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
BoE lending figures add credence to FLS scepticism
Business lending continues to contract in the UK, but pressure still mounts on the ECB to take steps to address eurozone recession
Lagarde says ECB has ‘room to manoeuvre' on rates
IMF managing director says it up to ECB when to cut rates but calls for co-ordinated policies worldwide to shift ‘from three-speed to full speed' global recovery
ECB working paper puts forward new model for use in stress tests
Working paper based on risk-return optimal program in which banks aim to maximise risk-adjusted returns while taking into account regulatory capital and liquidity constraints
Draghi faces hostile Strasbourg reception but questions track record of SME lending schemes
ECB president grilled by European Parliament over the inability of small businesses to access credit; says action is 'absolutely essential'
Cyprus president rejects Draghi concerns
Nicos Anastasiades tells ECB president that government is not interfering with central bank independence; stresses legitimacy of investigation into governor Panicos Demetriades
ECB’s Cœuré highlights US and Europe payments division
Executive board member Benoît Cœuré says credit cards play a larger role in the US payments industry; identifies benefits of expanding European debit card usage
ECB research finds exchange rate decoupled from fundamentals
Paper suggests euro exchange rate during the European sovereign debt crisis ‘danced to its own tune’, but volatility was impacted by politicians’ statements
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
ECB’s Cœuré outlines efforts to cushion impact of regulation on SME lending
Executive board member says the European Central Bank can only tackle funding constraints – other stakeholders must address credit risk and lack of capital