European Central Bank (ECB)
Solans on the performance of the ECB
SPEECH - In the speech 'Some thoughts on the performance of the ECB' Eugenio Domingo Solans of the ECB said the ECB is almost five years old. But in that five years the Eurosystem has become a fully-fledged central bank which formulates and implements a…
Welteke says risks to economic growth are high
Bundesbank chief Ernst Welteke implied the ECB may be close to easing interest rates. Speaking in Stockholm he said that the euro zone economy had risks on the downside and that low growth posed more of a threat than inflation.
Eurozone inflation edges higher
The eurozone inflation rate rose a further point to 2.3 percent it was revealed on Monday. The ECB is not considered to be worried about inflation at the moment with Ernst Welteke recently saying the bank expected inflation would head downwards.
Domingo Solans on the euro as a driving force
SPEECH - Eugenio Domingo Solans of the European Central Bank said five years is a very short period of time in the normal life of a central bank. He compared the ECB to the Banco de San Carlos, the forerunner of the Bank of Spain created in 1782…
New financial regulator chief named in Ireland
IRELAND - The new Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority has appointed Liam O'Reilly, a member of the ECB Banking Supervision Committee, as its chief executive.
ECB Monthly Bulletin, November 2002
REPORT - The European Central Bank published its November 2002 Monthly Bulletin on 14 November. The bulletin contains three articles. The first focuses on the issue of the accountability of the ECB. The second addresses the importance of transparency in…
Duisenberg at the Banco de Mexico conference
SPEECH - In a speech to the 2nd international conference organised by the Banco de Mexico made on 12 November, Wim Duisenberg of the European Central Bank said over recent months, a high degree of uncertainty - stemming mainly from developments in stock…
European Central Bank Working Paper No 194
RESEARCH - ECB Working Paper, "Sensitivity analysis of volatility: a new tool for risk management" by Simone Manganelli, Vladimiro Ceci and Walter Vecchiato, November 2002.
European Central Bank Working Paper No 192
RESEARCH - ECB Working Paper, "Is the European Central Bank (and the United States Federal Reserve) predictable?", by Gabriel Perez-Quiros and Jorge Sicilia, November 2002. This paper examines the predictability of the monetary policy decisions of the…
ECB sticks to rates decision
SWITZERLAND - European Central Bank board member Eugenio Domingo Solans stressed the ECB's independence Monday and said it will not be pressured into cutting rates by political leaders in euro zone member states.
Bank of England is model for 'new' ECB
FRANCE - The path towards Britain's possible entry into the euro will be made much easier by a radical French plan for the European Central Bank to be reformed in the image of the Bank of England.
ECB president's wife cancels Israel visit
NETHERLANDS - Gretta Duisenberg, the wife of European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg, has cancelled a planned trip to Israel and the territories due to pressure from the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
ECB Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - At today's meeting the Governing Council of the ECB decided that the minimum bid rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 3.25%, 4.25…
ECB refuses to join Fed rate cut for now
GERMANY - The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged on Thursday, opting not to join the U.S. Federal Reserve in monetary easing aimed at propping up the faltering global economy.
Padoa-Schioppa on the euro and the role of ERM II
SPEECH - In the speech 'Trajectories towards the euro and the role of ERM II' made on 4 November, Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa of the ECB said ERM II should be seen as a meaningful framework within which to achieve further real and nominal convergence. In…
The ECB and Euro-Area Enlargement
RESEARCH - IMF Working Paper by Helge Berger, October 2002. The likely enlargement of euro-area membership will radically change the environment under which monetary policy will be made in the euro area. This paper looks at the consequences of such an…
The euro goes East
Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa reports the results of a survey by the ECB on the private holdings and use of the euro outside the euro area itself.
Issing on relationship lending in the euro area
SPEECH - In the speech 'Relationship lending in the euro area' made on 24 October, Otmar Issing of the ECB said recent trends in the European financial markets seem to have put pressure on banks, leading some of them to reduce the scale of their…
Don't use stability pact as scapegoat, says Issing
GERMANY - The chief economist of the European Central Bank launched a staunch defence of the euro area fiscal stability and growth pact on Monday, accusing politicians of using it as a "scapegoat" for their own failures.
Duisenberg on transforming the financial system
SPEECH - In the speech 'The transformation of the European financial system' made on 24 October, Wim Duisenberg of the ECB said developments such as the introduction of the euro have implications that are manifold and profound, in particular for central…
Financial structures in the euro area
REPORT - The European Central Bank (ECB) released a report on financial structures in the euro area on 25 October. The report describes the financial structure of the euro area as a whole and of the individual euro area countries, recent developments in…
Second ECB Central Banking Conference
CONFERENCE - The transformation of the European financial system, Frankfurt, 24 and 25 October 2002.
'Recovery may be slower' - ECB's Vanhala
GERMANY - European Central Bank (ECB) governing council member Matti Vanhala said Monday that the euro-zone economic recovery may be slower than expected, but an ECB rate cut was unlikely to boost demand significantly.
ECB takes authority over foreign currency reserves
GERMANY - The European Central Bank (ECB) confirmed Monday, the Irish Times reported, that it must give permission before any euro-zone state can raid its own foreign currency reserves to ease domestic borrowing requirements.