EU Economy - The annual growth rate of deposits placed by households increased to 4.9% in November ..- ECB

Press Release  - 3 January 2019  -   Monetary developments in the euro area: November 2018

Annual growth rate of broad monetary aggregate M3 decreased to 3.7% in November 2018 from 3.9% in October

Annual growth rate of narrower monetary aggregate M1, comprising currency in circulation and overnight deposits, stood at 6.7% in November, compared with 6.8% in October

Annual growth rate of adjusted loans to households stood at 3.3% in November, compared with 3.2% in October

Annual growth rate of adjusted loans to non-financial corporations stood at 4.0% in November, compared with 3.9% in October

EU Economy - Greek bailout , a critical event in the European sovereign debt crisis....

Economic Research - 18 December 2018  - How is a firm’s credit risk affected by sovereign risk?  - By Johannes Breckenfelder[1]

When a country sees its sovereign credit risk rise, do companies in that country also see their credit risk increase? We show that the answer is yes. Companies with a large public-sector ownership, as well as companies that borrow heavily from banks, are most affected. This suggests that the transmission of credit risk from sovereigns to non-financial companies occurs primarily through a fiscal and a financial channel, and points to the importance of reducing such risk spillovers and thereby overall risk in the economy, e.g. by means of the capital markets union.

EU Economy - Monetary Union has succeeded in many ways, but it has not delivered the gains that were expected in all countries .. - Mario Draghi

Press Release - Europe and the euro 20 years on -   Speech by Mario Draghi, President of the ECB, at Laurea Honoris Causa in Economics by University of Sant'Anna, Pisa, 15 December 2018

Next month, we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the launch of the euro.

The two decades in which the euro has existed have perhaps been exceptional. The first was the culmination of a 30-year upswing in the global financial cycle, while the second saw the worst economic and financial crisis since the 1930s. But, exceptional as they were, these two periods can teach us some useful lessons about what still needs to be done.

EU Economy - As central bankers we always need to be prepared for the next crisis - Benoît Cœuré - ECB

NEWS Release - Interview with Benoît Cœuré, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Carla Neuhaus on 19 September 2018 published on 1 October 2018

Mr Cœuré, the financial crisis erupted 10 years ago. Is the eurozone now better prepared for a crisis?

As central bankers we always need to be prepared for the next crisis. It is our job to make the financial system as resilient as possible. And a lot has been done on that front. The financial system is now much safer than it was 10 years ago. We have better regulation and higher capital and liquidity buffers in banks. Good progress has been made, but we are not there yet.

Κέρδη 1,3 δισεκ. ευρώ για την ΕΚΤ - Στα 154 εκατ. ευρώ τα κέρδη της από τα ομόλογα του Ελληνικού Δημοσίου ..

Δελτίο Τύπου - 22 Φεβρουαρίου 2018 - Οικονομικές καταστάσεις της ΕΚΤ για το 2017

• Τα κέρδη της ΕΚΤ αυξήθηκαν κατά 0,1 δισεκ. ευρώ σε 1,3 δισεκ. ευρώ το 2017 (2016: 1,2 δισεκ. ευρώ) και διανέμονται στο ακέραιο στις εθνικές κεντρικές τράπεζες.
• Καθαροί τόκοι-έσοδα επί τίτλων που διακρατούνται για τους σκοπούς της νομισματικής πολιτικής: 1,1 δισεκ. ευρώ (2016: 1,0 δισεκ. ευρώ)
• Ο ισολογισμός της ΕΚΤ αυξήθηκε σε 414 δισεκ. ευρώ (2016: 349 δισεκ. ευρώ)

EU Economy - Euro area Investments from investment funds increased - It was €282 billion higher in the fourth quarter of 2017 ..

Press Release  -  19 February 2018 - Euro area investment fund statistics: fourth quarter of 2017 

Euro area investment fund statistics: fourth quarter of 2017

 In the fourth quarter of 2017 the outstanding amount of shares/units issued by investment funds other than money market funds was €11,212 billion, which is €282 billion higher than in the third quarter of 2017.

Rebound in world trade - In the euro area, investment is expected to remain robust due to rising corporate profits . - Benoît Cœuré - ECB

Press Release - Trade as an engine of growth: Prospects and lessons for Europe  - Speech by Benoît Cœuré, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, NBRM High Level International Conference on Monetary Policy and Asset Management, Skopje, 16 February 2018

I thank you for inviting me to speak here in Skopje today[1]. I would like to take this opportunity to discuss an issue which I believe is key for the economic future of Europe and particularly relevant here, in the Western Balkans: the prospects for trade as an engine of growth.

EU Economy - Despite the favourable developments, inflation continues to be lacklustre.. - Peter Praet - ECB

NEWS Release - Panel on global monetary policies – similarities and differences on the way to the new normal  -  Remarks by Peter Praet, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the GIC/SUERF/Deutsche Bundesbank Conference, Frankfurt am Main, 8 February 2018

One of the main features of central banks’ response to the crisis – and the threat it posed to their statutory objectives – was the deployment of additional monetary policy instruments.[1] Some of these instruments, such as asset purchases, had featured in the traditional toolkit of central banks in the early years of central banking before largely falling out of use in some parts of the world.

Virtual currencies are not money, nor will they be for the foreseeable future ..- ECB

Publication -  Virtual or virtueless? The evolution of money in the digital age  -  Lecture by Yves Mersch, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum, London, 8 February 2018

European folklore warns of the will-o’-the-wisp, a malignant creature that dwelt in marshes. It would appear as a light in the distance, which a traveller would mistake for houses. As they reached the place where they thought the light was, it would move further ahead, drawing them deeper into the marsh to their untimely death and a watery grave.

The Eurosystem is amending the limit on the use of unsecured bank bonds as collateral.. - ECB

Press Release - 8 February 2018 - ECB amends guidelines relating to the Eurosystem’s monetary policy implementation

• Implements previously announced changes to the eligibility criteria of unsecured bank bonds
• Adjusts haircuts for floating rate assets and risk control measures for retained covered bonds with extendible maturities
• Amends criteria on interest payment structures for eligible credit claims and other technical changes related to collateral framework

EU Economy - Growth in the consumption of durable goods has been very strong in recent years ..- Report ECB

Publication 06/ 02/2018 - Consumption of durable goods in the ongoing economic expansion -  By Maarten Dossche and Lorena Saiz 

Household spending on durable goods is the part of private consumption that is most sensitive to the business cycle. Private consumption encompasses services, non-durable goods, semi-durable goods and durable goods. Durable goods typically have an expected lifetime of more than three years, whereas semi-durables and non-durables have a shorter lifetime.1 Households do not derive utility directly from spending on durable goods in the current period, but rather from the flow of services they provide over their lifetime.

The tax burden on US corporate income will fall significantly to a level close to that in a number of euro area economies.. - Report ECB

Publication -  05- Feb. -2018 -  The macroeconomic impact of the US tax reform By Ursel Baumann and Allan Gloe Dizioli 

Following the passing of legislation on the US tax reform towards the end of last year, this box summarises its main features and assesses the channels via which the reform may affect the US macroeconomy. It also discusses possible spillovers and implications from a European perspective.

EU Economy - Bank interest rate remained broadly unchanged ..- ECB

Press Release - 1 February 2018 -  Euro area bank interest rate statistics: December 2017 

 The composite cost-of-borrowing indicator for new loans to corporations1 remained broadly unchanged at 1.70% in December 2017. 

 The composite cost-of-borrowing indicator for new loans to households1 for house purchase decreased by 4 basis points from the previous month to 1.83% in December 2017. 

Markets seem sanguine about the prospects for the US, and probably also for the global economy ..- Benoît Cœuré - ECB

Publication -  What yield curves are telling us  -  Speech by Benoît Cœuré, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB at the Financial Times European Financial Forum, “Building a New Future for International Financial Services”, Dublin, 31 January 2018

The US Treasury yield curve flattened considerably last year, reducing the spread between ten-year and two-year US Treasury yields to less than 60 basis points. When Alan Greenspan first referred to a bond market “conundrum” in 2005, the spread was around 80 basis points.[1] In the euro area, by contrast, the term spread remained broadly unchanged last year.

EU Economy - Our monetary policy strategy has borne fruit ..- Peter Praet - ECB

NEWS Release -   Maintaining price stability with unconventional monetary policy  -  Speech by Peter Praet, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the Council of the European Union, Brussels, 29 January 2018

Responding to the crisis in the euro area

The crisis that erupted in 2008 sparked a sharp downturn in the global financial cycle[1]. In the preceding years, over-optimistic growth expectations had taken hold in a number of advanced economies. Despite slowing productivity growth, agents overestimated future income growth and borrowed against it, accumulating excessive levels of debt. 

Euro banknotes continue to be a trusted and safe means of payment ..- ECB

Press Release - 26 January 2018 -  Euro banknote counterfeiting remains low in second half of 2017

- 363,000 counterfeit euro banknotes were withdrawn from circulation in the second half of 2017

- Around 85% of the counterfeits were €20 and €50 banknotes

- All euro banknotes can be verified using the “feel, look and tilt” method

- Euro banknotes continue to be a trusted and safe means of payment

EU Economy - The Governing Council expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at their present levels for an extended period of time - ECB

Press Release - 25 January 2018 - Monetary policy decisions

At today’s meeting the Governing Council of the ECB decided that the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 0.00%, 0.25% and -0.40% respectively. 

EU Economy - Net demand continued to increase across all loan categories in the fourth quarter of 2017 - ECB

News Release  -  23 January 2018 -  Results of the January 2018 euro area bank lending survey

- Loan growth continued to be supported by increasing demand across all loan categories.

- Credit standards remained broadly unchanged for enterprises and consumer credit, while they continued to ease for housing loans.

- Credit terms and conditions eased for loans to enterprises and housing loans.

- Banks continued to strengthen capital positions in response to regulatory and supervisory actions.

The Eurosystem will temporarily pause Asset purchase programmes at the holiday period ...- ECB

Press Release - Asset purchase programmes  -- Expanded asset purchase programme

Asset purchases over the holiday period

The Eurosystem will temporarily pause APP purchases (PSPP, CBPP3, CSPP and ABSPP) from 21 December to 29 December 2017 inclusive, in anticipation of significantly lower market liquidity during this period and to reduce possible market distortions. Purchases will resume on 2 January 2018. Moreover, purchases in December will be somewhat frontloaded to take advantage of the relatively better market conditions expected during the earlier part of the month.

A stronger US growth outlook, as well as diverging monetary policy expectations between the euro area and the United States had an impact on global equity and foreign exchange markets. - ECB

Press Release - Account of the monetary policy meeting of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, held in Frankfurt am Main on Wednesday and Thursday, 25-26 October 2017

1. Review of financial, economic and monetary developments and policy options Financial market developments

Mr Cœuré reviewed the latest financial market developments. - Since the Governing Council’s monetary policy meeting on 6-7 September 2017 a positive underlying tone had persisted in financial markets. Two main factors seemed to have driven cross-asset price correlations: first, the return of the “reflation trade” that had pushed long-term interest rates, equities and the US dollar broadly higher; and, second, the euro area had been shielded to some extent from the upward pressure on yields, mainly owing to expectations of continued ECB monetary policy accommodation.