European Central Bank (ECB)
Interview: Gerard Hartsink
European Payments Council chairman Gerard Hartsink tells Yusuf Yassin he welcomes the decision to set end-dates for Sepa migration, but says concerns about the regulation, raised in October, remain
Hungary drops plan to merge central bank with regulator
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán says planned merger between National Bank of Hungary and Hungarian Financial Supervisory Authority has been abandoned
ECB report urges progress on Sepa card payments migration
European Central Bank study says considerable effort is still needed to achieve an integrated European market for card payments
ECB paper identifies substantial shift in invoicing patterns following euro adoption
European Central Bank study shows Norway's trading partners participating in the eurozone used their own currency more frequently than before the introduction of the euro
Euro counterfeit banknote figure creeps up
Number of known fake euro banknotes hit 310,000 during in the second half of 2011, up 5% on the first half of the year
ECB and BoE join other countries in rates hold
European Central Bank and Bank of England join the National Bank of Poland and Bank Indonesia in leaving interest rates on hold; ECB president welcomes U-turn on Greece private sector involvement
Counterparty risks distort insurance protection, says ECB paper
European Central Bank study shows that although hedging aims at sharing risk, it can also lead to risk-taking distortions due to the interplay of counterparty risks
Global supply chains explain trade collapse, says ECB paper
European Central Bank study shows intra-group trade reacted more rapidly than arm’s length trade to global trade collapse
Bank of Italy: ECB’s flexible operational framework assisted crisis response
Bank of Italy study compares effectiveness of unconventional monetary policies adopted by the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank in response to crisis
Netherlands Bank warns of Sepa information gap
Dutch central bank to launch communication campaign to aid consumers with limited knowledge about the European payments project
Praet named ECB’s de facto chief economist
European Central Bank executive board member Peter Praet will take over economics responsibilities at central bank
Hungary passes controversial central bank bill
Hungarian parliament votes in favour of amendments to National Bank of Hungary law; central bank warns that law presents serious threat to economy
CentralBanking.com review of 2011
Round-up of 10 of the leading news stories in 2011
ECB paper identifies challenges to creating resolution regimes
European Central Bank study compares legal aspects of bank resolution regimes in the UK and Germany
ECB receives strong demand for three-year liquidity
European Central Bank extends €489 billion in loans to banks in its first three-year liquidity operation. But analysts believe the measures will do little to ease funding pressures in the eurozone
Sepa migration deadline pencilled in for 2014
European Union says migration end-dates for credit transfers and direct debit to Single Euro Payments Area will be February 2014
Bank of Italy selects Rossi to join governing board
Bank of Italy names secretary-general Salvatore Rossi as deputy director-general, filling seat left open by governor Ignazio Visco on central bank board
Demand shocks strongly influence eurozone profit levels: ECB paper
European Central Bank study shows reaction to demand shocks explains variation in profit growth across countries in region
ECB says financial stability in Europe faced ‘strong headwinds’ in 2011
European Central Bank releases Financial Stability Report; says weakening macroeconomic growth prospects and “unprecedented” loss of confidence to blame for rise of key risks in the region
Bini Smaghi shares thoughts on monetary system reform
Lorenzo Bini Smaghi talks about shortfalls of international policy co-ordination and looks at ways to improve it
Robert Pringle’s Viewpoint: What future for European banking?
Policymakers urgently need to form a clear, strategic position on the future of banking in Europe as well as a roadmap on how to get there. This may require the nationalisation of major European banks
Hungarian government proposes banking regulator merger
Hungarian parliamentary committee sets out amendments to National Bank of Hungary law that will merge institution with financial regulator; move would see governor Andras Simor demoted to deputy head
Draghi explains extraordinary policy measures
ECB president sets out the reasons behind governing council’s decision to cut the benchmark interest rate and introduce three measures to support bank lending and liquidity in the eurozone
Disagreement on economic outlook influences growth regimes: ECB paper
European Central Bank study shows switch between high-, medium-, or low-growth regimes affected by level of agreement between economic agents