European Central Bank (ECB)
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
Thatcher's stance on the ECB deserves re-appraisal
Former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher feared an independent ECB ‘accountable to no one, least of all national parliaments'. Her concerns seem even more relevant today
ECB paper examines shifts in fiscal regimes
Study finds responsibility for stabilising debt levels has swung between monetary and fiscal authorities in UK, Germany and Italy; most clearly defined in UK
ECB on collision course with European Parliament over top supervisory appointments
Yves Mersch fears EP veto over supervisory board heads will 'institutionalise conflict' between the ECB and EP, and contravene the Maastricht Treaty
Draghi promises Cyprus bail-out is ‘no template’
Mario Draghi says an established pecking order of ‘bail-inable’ debt will avoid repeating the chaotic resolution in Cyprus; ECB and BoE both hold rates
ECB’s Cœuré damns ‘Panglossian’ view of currency war danger
ECB board member’s comments on ‘dangerously alluring’ monetary easing come a week after Bernanke claimed widespread QE is an ‘enrich thy neighbour’ policy
ECB paper finds initial response to financial crisis was not good enough
Working paper suggests policy up to end of 2011 was insufficient to reduce credit availability problems for small businesses, underlining the importance of more recent innovations
Dutch paper analyses changes in unsecured overnight money market
Study examines changes to the ECB’s monetary policy framework in the mid-2000s; finds they reduced volatility in Dutch segment of Target II system
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’
Major part of banking union set for mid-2014, says ECB official
National supervisors made 'gigantic mistakes', says ECB's financial stability head; outlines plans for SSM
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
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
Nalm 2013: Kotz stresses necessity of exceptional policy despite moral hazard
Former Bundesbank board member says exceptional response by major central banks to the financial crisis was unavoidable as cost of inaction would have been ‘massive’
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
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
Constâncio identifies benefits of banking union to non-members
ECB vice-president says European countries outside the new SSM will benefit from an enhanced banking union; stresses value of increased financing to real economies