Otmar Issing
2016: The year in review
The past year was characterised by dramatic political events, and central banks did not always manage to stay above the fray; we look back at some of the biggest stories
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
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
Book notes: The curse of cash, by Kenneth S Rogoff
A well-written book and sincerely argued, but it is based on weak economic analysis and inadequate economic and political history
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
Issing says eurozone status quo is in danger
Former ECB board member says Europe’s monetary union is still plagued by problems caused by absence of political integration, which could pull the eurozone apart
Central bank 'silo culture' detracts from statistics, says ex-BoJ governor
Masaaki Shirakawa tells audience at Deutsche Bundesbank to expose economists to statistics and business contacts during their careers; Otmar Issing stresses value of good data
Blanchard leads calls for more ‘democratic input’ in central bank decision-making
Viral Acharya, Olivier Blanchard, Richard Fisher, Otmar Issing and Klaas Knot debate new ‘paradigm’ of central banks with ever more responsibilities; Blanchard prescribes an injection of democracy
Constâncio and Issing fear ‘zombie' bank dependency on central bank liquidity
Former ECB chief economist joins current vice-president in warning over weak banks becoming dependent on central bank money - but Constâncio says ECB is ‘exiting quietly and smoothly'
Asmussen: Eurozone governors should ‘withstand' pressure of public minutes
ECB executive board member Jörg Asmussen says eurozone central bank governors should be able to withstand the pressure of having their deliberations and voting made public
Issing brands calls for detailed ECB minutes disclosure ‘absurd'
Debate rages about the need for more transparency in ECB governing council decision-making, as Otmar Issing and Sharon Bowles enter the fray; Draghi says ECB is reviewing communications policy
Robert Pringle’s Viewpoint: How governments are undermining world finance
Central bankers need to forcefully express their concerns about the unintended consequences of new regulatory policies
Former ECB board members say OMTs are outside central bank’s mandate
Otmar Issing and Jürgen Stark both criticise ECB bond purchase plans in separate interviews; Issing calls political union a ‘dangerous idea’
Robert Pringle's Viewpoint: Fatal flaws in inflation targeting
Central bankers face a ‘lose-lose situation’ by accepting dual price and financial stability mandates when even their ability to achieve price stability via inflation targeting is in question
Interview: Otmar Issing
The architect of the ECB’s monetary policy framework talks to Robert Pringle about his new book and the challenges central bankers face at the moment
Dear Jean-Claude...
Changing the way the ECB works would improve its image and make your job easier, writes Charles Goodhart in an open letter to the ECB’s president.