European Central Bank (ECB)
Visco hits out at lack of ‘cohesion’ among Europe’s political leaders
ECB governing council member calls for targeted structural reforms in the euro area; says a euro area finance minister must have fiscal capability and not be “another referee”
Praet calls for further consolidation of eurozone banking
The ECB's chief economist says falling bank profits are not a concern for monetary policy and sector must improve business models while the central bank gives “regulatory clarity”
The data deluge
Big data can help economists overcome weak theories and improve our knowledge, but it also comes with with larger pitfalls
Constâncio rejects higher inflation targets and instrument rules
Higher targets would not re-anchor inflation expectations, ECB vice-president says
ECB says draft Croatian law could harm central bank independence
Proposals would give state auditor “undefined powers” over central bank, ECB says
Last stand for central bank independence?
Political attacks on Janet Yellen and Mark Carney appear to be just the start of a sustained assault on central bank independence. It’s a battle the central bankers may lose
Weighting models by performance is better than taking simple averages, researchers say
Weighting models by performance is better than taking simple averages, researchers say
Cœuré sets out sovereign debt reform ideas as Weidmann strengthens call to end QE
Two senior eurozone central bankers set out different visions for radical change to the handling of European sovereign debt
ECB paper assesses influence of international linkages on length and severity of recession
Credit growth combined with other vulnerabilities is important, authors argue
ECB’s economic bulletin paints mixed picture of eurozone investment
Business investment recovering overall but several factors may limit further growth, ECB says
More research needed on exchange rate pass-through, ECB article says
Research on effects of different shocks on inflation “still in an incipient phase”
Draghi and Mersch seek to calm German fears
The ECB’s task will be harder if Germans feel discriminated against, Mersch says; Draghi points to evidence that QE helped German savers
AnaCredit: banking with (pretty) big data
The supranational credit database in Europe will help policy-makers and banks assess cross-border risk when it goes live in 2018, writes Aurel Schubert, director-general of the European Central Bank’s statistics department
ECB issues latest macro-prudential bulletin
Papers look at second order effects of financial shock, de-risking and high-frequency trades
ECB's bank watchdog warned on NPL clean-up drive
SSM may need clearer enforcement process to boost bad loan provisioning, says regulator
Draghi postpones decision on extension of QE
ECB president is aiming to build governing council support for further asset purchases, one analyst argues
Output gap in euro area is much larger than official estimates – paper
Official estimates predict output gap 3–4% less negative than author’s results; current models do not “adequately capture” inflation developments
ECB’s Mersch: central banks have failed to correctly assess growth potential
Central banks were “over-reliant on pro-cyclical forecasts” before the financial crisis, ECB board member says; repeats call for fiscal stimulus and structural reform
No ‘insidious’ German plan for EMU competitive advantage, says Issing
Otmar Issing says Germany didn't even have 'the economic intelligence' to design such a plan; country suffered years of high unemployment as others such as Italy failed to capitalise on price stability
Otmar Issing on why the euro ‘house of cards’ is set to collapse
Euro architect tells Chris Jeffery that muddling from one crisis to another cannot go on endlessly. Politicians need to admit “there is no likelihood” of political union to give EMU rules a chance
Euro architect says ECB has ‘destroyed’ market discipline in Europe
Otmar Issing, the man who designed the operational framework for the euro, says failures by European politicians and the ECB mean “all the elements” are in place to bring “disaster” to the monetary union
Greater role for capital markets would not necessarily harm policy transmission – ECB’s Praet
A ‘range of common factors’ is affecting both banks and non-banks, ECB chief economist says
Targets key tool in reducing NPL levels, Irish deputy governor says
Banks can be unwilling to start sustainable NPL restructuring, Donnery says; repeats call for reform of European restructuring processes
‘Moral suasion’ and yield-seeking intensified sovereign debt crisis – ECB paper
Researchers use information on 226 eurozone banks; publicly owned, recently bailed-out and less strongly capitalised banks engaged increased sovereign bond holdings during crisis