European Central Bank (ECB)
Third TLTRO sees extra €98 billion borrowed from ECB
Latest allocation of cheap loans pushes total amount borrowed to €310 billion; measures aimed at repairing transmission mechanism and encouraging loans to real economy
Protestors clash with police as ECB opens new premises
Demonstrations organised to coincide with inauguration of new ECB building lead to outbreaks of violence; Draghi calls for economics and politics of integration to be ‘reconciled’
Draghi wants shared sovereignty over structural reforms
ECB president fleshes out vision for ‘common governance’ of product and labour market reforms in the eurozone; advocates adopting an ‘institution-based approach’ to common governance
Cyprus governor 'will not resign' despite political pressure
Chrystalla Georghadji will continue exercising her duties as governor despite the Cypriot president ordering an investigation into what he perceives as a ‘conflict of interest’
ECB paper models Philips curve from professional forecasts
Working paper finds the curve consistent with professional forecasts has flattened since the financial crisis, with the relationship between inflation and unemployment weakening
ECB’s Mersch tells banks to take advantage of reforms
Banks should tap into the ‘sizeable’ opportunities offered by banking union, ECB executive board member says, which could help them provide more credit to SMEs
Spanish deputy favours ‘moral persuasion’ in supervision
Fernando Restoy believes supervisors should have the ‘ability to influence the decisions’ of the managers of the entities it oversees through ‘moral persuasion’
ECB reveals flexibility in QE programme
European Central Bank releases modalities of asset purchase programme; Draghi delivers upbeat press conference underpinned by positive staff projections
Court rules against ECB in CCP case
European court finds ECB does not have authority to regulate securities clearing systems in the EU, upholding a UK plea against rules forcing CCPs to be located in the eurozone
ECB concerned by plans for Slovenian central bank law
The institution, led by Mario Draghi, voices concern over draft amendments that would give the national assembly powers to fire board members and their impact on ‘personal independence’
ECB revisits virtual currencies in new report
Research concludes virtual currencies do not pose ‘material risk’ to central bank operations in eurozone, but could if they become more widely used or entwined with the real economy
Greek governor calls for reform and coherent growth plan
Yannis Stournaras urges government to honour Greece’s commitments and reach a prompt agreement with its European partners, then focus on creating sustainable growth
IMF research looks to jumpstart market for Italian NPLs
Nadège Jassaud and Kenneth Kang discuss their strategy for fostering a market for non-performing loans with Central Banking, stressing the need for ‘decisive action’
Draghi defends Greek waiver decision in heated parliament session
ECB president defends bond-waiver decision and dismisses ‘popular mistakes’ over the disbursement of profits, having to raise his voice over heckling from MEPs
Lagarde raises doubts over Greek reform package
Troika institutions give Greek bailout package the go-ahead, but IMF managing director says current reform framework ‘is not conveying clear assurances’ in many areas
Greek debt deal marks start of rough road
Negotiations on Friday ended in a compromise stacked in Germany’s favour; although disaster has been temporarily averted there are more battles to come, and Greece’s funding remains tight
ECB publishes first minutes
European Central Bank releases an ‘account’ of the discussion at the governing council meeting in January, which saw it launch quantitative easing in the eurozone
Estonian governor tells MPs central banks cannot create long-term growth
Ardo Hansson says QE in the eurozone will help to improve confidence, but reforms are necessary for investors to believe the economy will grow
Outgoing Belgian governor takes ECB role
Luc Coene named as one of four ECB representatives on the SSM supervisory board, a role he will start after stepping down as National Bank of Belgium governor next month
Bundesbank says German recovery is faster than expected
Monthly report highlights ‘remarkable’ rebound of German economy, leading forecasts to be revised upwards; oil and euro depreciation behind the boost
Macro-prudential policies can ‘tame’ the financial sector, says ECB's Constâncio
Monetary policy should be used to control the price of goods and services not asset prices; macro-prudential policies can address financial imbalances in spite of dearth of shadow banking tools
Central banks are on the losing side of government pacts
Quantitative easing by the ECB and the Bank of Japan brought market cheer. But, absent meaningful structural reform, is miring central banks deeper into an ever-more dangerous policy cycle.
Reviving the faltering euro economy
There are three options to address Europe’s core problem: real differences in production costs. None of them involve asset purchases by the European Central Bank, writes Allan Meltzer
Book notes: European Spring, by Philippe Legrain
Ambitious and accessible, this book's take on events is provocative and its alternative insights warrant reflection