Europe
ECB aims for single policy on ‘options and discretions’ with new proposals
Central bank publishes draft documents aiming to create a single policy for the exercise of options and discretions under banking law in financial systems it regulates
Low rates from QE poses risks to some pension and insurance firms in eurozone, Visco warns
Pension funds and insurance companies in some eurozone countries may need to adjust their practices to limit the risks arising from asset purchases, Italian governor says
ECB publishes first quarterly statistical report on households
The European Central Bank publishes its first quarterly statistical report on the eurozone’s household sector; underlying figures available online in data warehouse
‘Closed’ nature of eurozone banks increases vulnerability, Portuguese paper says
Commercial banks in the eurozone are more likely to be hit by country-specific shocks compared to US given fewer foreign branches; greater use of asset-backed securities may be a solution
Europe lags US in leading global financial reform, economist says at ECB event
The European Union no longer leads global efforts at financial reform, argues French economist Nicolas Véron; eurozone nations have too many seats on global reform bodies, he adds
Asset purchases having ‘sizeable’ impact on prices in eurozone, ECB paper finds
Working paper says ostensibly puzzling result can be explained by low levels of ‘market distress’ weakening some transmission channels but bolstering others
EBA unveils plans for 2016 stress tests
European Banking Authority publishes draft guidelines for stress-testing systemically important banks; some 53 banks will be tested from February 2016
Europe would benefit from more centralised macro-prudential tools, says ECB vice-president
Macro-prudential regulation of housing sector successful in UK, and the SSM should be in a position to set similar policy in the eurozone, Constâncio says
Constâncio: ECB working to overcome stress test limitations
Current ECB stress tests have multiple limitations including some macro-prudential considerations, ECB vice-president says
ECB to log bank loans to firms above €25,000 from 2018
New system will log all loans by eurozone commercial banks to firms above a value of €25,000 starting in March 2018; ‘AnaCredit’ likely to expand coverage to natural persons
Eurozone banking sector less reliant on central bank funding, ECB report says
Commercial banks relied less on central bank financing in 2014 and only achieved ‘moderate’ extension of credit; shadow banking sector becomes increasingly important
Europe should adopt expansionary fiscal policy, Fed's Stanley Fischer says
The ECB must continue with its ‘courageous’ supervisory and monetary policies, but they would be stronger if backed by an expansionary fiscal policy, says Stanley Fischer
‘First empirical survey of European forbearance’ uses asset quality review data
Weak macroeconomic conditions, supervisory regimes and the weakness of individual banks drive the amount of forbearance on loans practised by European banks, working paper argues
Asymmetric credit growth drove pre-crisis eurozone imbalances, paper argues
Credit growth and competitiveness major causes of current account deficits, researcher says
Long-term low interest rates risk financial instability, Geneva report argues
Long-run accommodative monetary policy could raise risks to financial instability, Charles Bean and other economists argue; issuance of leveraged loans in US corporate market on the rise
Eurozone monetary policy works through credit channel, paper argues
Strong evidence eurozone monetary policy works through the credit channel rather than the interest rate channel, paper says; unconventional monetary policy strongest in crisis
EU must ‘contain divergence’ between member states, says Polish central bank head
Marek Belka says reforms will not be supported unless European Union prevents economic divergence; speakers say quality of structural reform debate must improve
Eurozone policy-makers and researchers puzzled by trends in long-term inflation expectations
Eurozone inflation more strongly influenced by inflation expectations, the ECB notes; two central bank working papers say data shows unexpected changes
Eurosystem’s asset purchase programme should increase growth by 1% annually, paper says
The Eurosystem’s asset purchase programme could increase growth and inflation by 1% annually for two years, a working paper from the Bank of Italy predicts
European Commission unveils capital markets union ‘action plan’
European capital markets must be standardised and liberalised, commission says; specific areas of focus include infrastructure funding and securitisation markets
IMF staff calls for ‘comprehensive strategy’ on non-performing loans
IMF staff call for creation of asset management companies to free up European banks from distressed debt; cites Spain as good example
Lithuanian paper explores macroeconomic imbalances
Working paper advocates a more refined analysis of the misalignments in current accounts and real effective exchange rates for the macroeconomic imbalance procedure
Competition can boost macro-financial stability, research finds
A survey of 54 European banks shows increased competition increases the fragility of individual banks but decreases systemic risk, working paper says
Draghi: too early to judge impact of global events on eurozone inflation
Mario Draghi says slowing growth in EMs, strong euro and weak commodity prices have ‘renewed downside risks’ to outlook; Peter Praet says eurozone still ‘going through correction phase’