European Central Bank (ECB)
Limited liability distorts incentives for disaster planning, paper argues
Consequences of recent events with catastrophic financial ramifications have been greatly aggravated by policy-makers’ failure to prepare, says ECB working paper
Strategic default helps explain crises in advanced economies, ECB paper finds
Sovereign debt and financial re-allocation are linked by the use of government bonds as collateral on the interbank lending market, paper notes
IMF presses for Greek debt relief as Eurogroup meets
Fund official says decision must be taken on debt relief before IMF will consider providing new funds; leaked document suggests ECB and Commission are concerned about sustainability
Weidmann wary of monetary policy ‘being further co-opted’
Bundesbank president makes case for changes to institutional framework underpinning the monetary union, calling for discussion of ‘Maastricht plus’ and political union
Eurozone inflation ‘may well have’ reached turning point
ECB governing council members suspect underlying inflation reached a turning point earlier this year, but feel it is too soon to say for certain, accounts from July meeting show
Can inflation derivatives help the ECB hit its inflation target?
The ECB could reinforce its pursuit of price stability by using inflation derivatives should current tools prove insufficient or the implementation of QE encounter technical difficulties
Nobel economist Sims on fiscal stimulus, Eurozone loss sharing and role of central banks
The Nobel laureate speaks with Christopher Jeffery about his scepticism regarding secular stagnation, the eurozone’s failings and the need for inflationary fiscal stimulus at the zero lower bound
Greek memo reveals commitments necessary to access bailout funds
Leaked document shows string of ‘prior actions’ government must complete before it can access up to €86 billion of euro funds
Lobbying softens regulatory treatment of distressed banks in US, paper finds
Under-capitalised US banks are less likely to be rigorously supervised if they have exercised political or regulatory influence, a working paper published by the ECB finds
ECB researchers examine flight to safety during sovereign debt crisis
Working paper tracks geographical distribution of capital flight, finding different movements by intra-eurozone and external investors; movements ceased when OMTs were unveiled
ECB paper models joint default risk with fat tails
Researchers reject normal distribution in favour of one with fatter tails, find ‘unprecedented’ tail risks in 2011-12 fell sharply after the OMT announcement
Questions of credibility in the Eurozone and China
The ECB's credibility was once more called into question over the handling of Greek debt negotiations; positive signs from China amid equity market chaos
Market expectations respond to contractionary shocks, Chilean paper argues
Monetary expectations in major eurozone economies are responsive to contractionary shocks but not expansionary ones, a paper published by the Chilean central bank argues
Greek lessons for central banks acting as lenders of last resort
Is it appropriate for a central bank that also acts as lead financial supervisor to act as a lender of last resort at a time when its actions are becoming quasi-fiscal in nature? By Ludek Niedermayer
ECB article examines lack of real convergence in eurozone
Article in latest bulletin points to three factors behind the lack of sustainable real convergence among the countries in eurozone since the creation of the monetary union
IMF flags potential scarcity of sovereign bonds in Europe
‘Selected issues paper’ warns a shrinking pool of securities could ‘pose challenges’ to the implementation of the ECB’s quantitative easing programme
ECB bulletin: Too early to tell if inflation has turned a corner
Inflation in the eurozone appears to be moving upwards, but strip away transitory factors and the picture becomes much more blurry
Varoufakis reveals covert plan for parallel Greek currency
Secret plan to create payment system using accounts attached to Greek tax numbers was designed to be activated if the country came close to exiting the euro
ECB raises concerns over Greece’s draft resolution law
Hastily assembled legal opinion on draft law warns of possible detrimental effects on the Bank of Greece, including impact on independence, increased liability and ‘operational burden’
Greece uses bridge loan to repay IMF and ECB
Loan received today used immediately to repay debts, while government works to unlock full bailout; Ben Bernanke joins debate with criticism of German trade surplus
Bank of Italy sees credit conditions improving
Economic bulletin notes the ability of banks to borrow cheap funds from the ECB is helping improve conditions, but stock of NPLs is still holding back lending growth
ECB lifts veil on ELA as it raises Greek cap
No action on monetary policy but governing council extends further lifeline to Greek banks; Draghi admits policy of keeping emergency liquidity secret is unnecessary in a systemic crisis
ECB’s Mersch calls for stricter convergence in eurozone
Executive board member says convergence should be more strongly enforced, as this could help pave way for common decisions in some areas of fiscal policy
IMF calls for Greek debt relief ‘far beyond’ EU plans
Memo warns public debt is ‘highly unsustainable’ and European leaders will need to provide much greater debt relief than they have discussed up to this point