Institutional Investor (December 17, 2013)
With the introduction of a new single supervisory mechanism, the European Central Bank (ECB) is positioned to play a integral role. “The coronation of the ECB as banking supervisor will make the central bank an even more powerful institution, along the lines of the Fed, which emerged from the crisis as the dominant U.S. financial regulator.”
Tags: Banking, Central bank, Crisis, ECB, eurozone, Fed, Financial regulator, Supervisory mechanism, U.S.
Institutional Investor (March Issue)
“The European Central Bank’s recent moves have helped lighten the mood for investors in the euro zone.” It is true the dark cloud is rising, yet “Europe’s economic situation is still precarious, and any number of potential shocks could widen spreads and dampen returns. Moreover, policymakers have yet to address the region’s long-term growth prospects.”
Tags: Dark cloud, ECB, Euro zone, Growth, Policymakers, Returns, Shocks, Spreads
Euromoney (February Issue)
“The European Central bank’s announcement that 278 eurozone banks repaid €137.2 billion of their long-term refinancing operation (LTRO) borrowings on January 30 was seized upon by the market as supporting evidence for a broad range of contradictory positions….Indeed, there was a general sense of confusion after the ECB’s announcement and very little consensus emerged as to what the repayments actually meant….. Attempting to extrapolate much from the figure could turn out to be a fool’s errand.”
Financial Times (December 3)
The European Central Bank (ECB) wants “to reduce the City’s role as an offshore centre doing euro-denominated business…. A substantial clawback would hurt the City, which accounts for more than a third of all wholesale financial business in the EU and 40 per cent of global foreign exchange trading in the single currency. Quite how easily this activity could be repatriated by ECB fiat remains to be seen, as location, language and expertise also count for much in markets.”
Tags: Currency trading, ECB, EU, Forex, London
Wall Street Journal (September 10)
“Mario Draghi laid out the European Central Bank’s latest bond-buying venture Thursday, and we suppose the good news is that it isn’t as sweeping as it might have been.” Still, it amounts to “another giant step into fiscal policy. This is far from the original vision of the euro, and the costs to the central bank’s political independence will be steep.” Furthermore, the benefits are marginal. “At best, the new program will give Messrs. Monti and Rajoy more time to promote the reforms in labor markets, taxation and other things their countries so desperately need to grow again.”
Tags: Bond-buying, ECB, euro, Fiscal policy, Italy, Mario Draghi, Monti, Rajoy, Spain
Wall Street Journal (August 2)
Last week, European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi was prepared to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro. This week, he
“dashed hopes… unleashing a global selloff.” His “apparent backtracking on ECB intervention illustrates the challenge he faces in managing the central bank’s biggest shareholder, Germany.”
Last week, European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi was prepared to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro. This week, he
“dashed hopes… unleashing a global selloff.” His “apparent backtracking on ECB intervention illustrates the challenge he faces in managing the central bank’s biggest shareholder, Germany.”
The Independent (May 31)
A day of stunning developments in the European debt crisis is summed up simply. “Spaniards are moving money out of their nation’s banks faster than at any point since records began, as Fitch downgrades eight regions and ECB President Mario Draghi warns Europe’s leaders must clarify their vision for the euro.”A day of stunning developments in the European debt crisis is summed up as “Spaniards are moving money out of their nation’s banks faster than at any point since records began, as Fitch downgrades eight regions and ECB President Mario Draghi warns Europe’s leaders must clarify their vision for the euro.”
Financial Times (January 2)
“The commitment of member governments and, above all, of the European Central Bank to maintain the eurozone looks strong enough to keep it together for another year, at least.”
Tags: 2012, ECB, eurozone, Prediction, Survival
Washington Post (September 17)
A “bank run” mentality has resurfaced in Europe. With trust waning, the short term depends on the European Central Bank (ECB), which has stepped in as the lender of last resort. In the long term, “true stabilization is going to mean rewriting the premises of European unity, and the social contract itself.” This process “will take many years to strike a new balance — to organize what amounts to a managed bankruptcy for the eurozone and the beginnings of a recapitalization.”
The New York Times (September 12)
Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman believes “the euro is now at risk of collapse.” He warns that “we’re not talking about a crisis that will unfold over a year or two; this thing could come apart in a matter of days. And if it does, the whole world will suffer.” To avoid “an impeccable disaster,” Krugman believes the European Central Bank (ECB) must “lend freely and cut rates.” In addition, the ECB should be “buying up Spanish and Italian debt — that is, doing what these countries would be doing for themselves if they still had their own currencies.”
