Archives

June 3, 2024 @ 8:52 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The European Central Bank (ECB) has released the latest results / findings from the consumer expectations survey results, covering the April 2024 period. When compared with March 2024, the ECB update reveals: median consumer inflation perceptions over the previous 12 months were unchanged, while median… Read More

May 24, 2024 @ 8:57 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The European Central Bank (ECB) is focused on carrying out DLT or distributed ledger technology trials, which are currently underway. The Eurosystem is currently testing distributed ledger technology (DLT) for wholesale transactions in central bank money. During these trials, 16 private firms as well as… Read More

May 20, 2024 @ 7:31 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Financial stability in the euro area has benefited from an improving economic outlook, with inflation steadily declining and investor confidence recovering, according to the May 2024 Financial Stability Review, which was released by the European Central Bank. The outlook remains fragile, however, as the “scope… Read More

January 11, 2024 @ 10:13 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The European Central Bank (ECB) has published experimental statistics on Distributional Wealth Accounts (DWA) to provide quarterly and timely household distributional information that is consistent with the national accounts. The new data have been developed to “support the ECB’s 2021 monetary policy strategy, which aims… Read More

December 11, 2023 @ 8:45 am By Michael Wong  |  

The European Union (EU) is set to significantly expand the powers of the European Central Bank (ECB), entrusting it with the oversight of risks associated with climate change and the burgeoning digital asset market. This sweeping update, detailed earlier this week, positions the ECB at… Read More

December 4, 2023 @ 11:49 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In the latest round of the twice-yearly Survey on the Access to Finance of Enterprises (SAFE) in the euro area, covering the period from April to September 2023, firms reported “an increase in turnover, although the net percentage was lower than in the previous survey… Read More

November 26, 2023 @ 10:13 am By Omar Faridi  |  

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is known for her anti-crypto stance, referring to virtual currencies as being highly speculative, completely worthless, and often used as a tool by bad actors/criminals for engaging in illicit activities. Recently, the ECB President Christine Lagarde claimed that her… Read More

November 15, 2023 @ 5:14 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

European Union rules and guidelines for protecting the financial system from risks due to cryptocurrency transactions reportedly come with a loophole that enables banking institutions to circumvent certain safeguards, and these must be addressed immediately, according to the European Central Bank‘s chief supervisor Andrea Enria…. Read More

October 18, 2023 @ 10:59 am By JD Alois  |  

While a decision is not yet final, the European Central Bank (ECB) has entered the “preparation phase” to issue a digital Euro. The ECB has been ruminating on the pros and cons of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for some time now. This most… Read More

September 5, 2023 @ 3:54 pm By JD Alois  |  

European Central Bank (ECB) Member of the Executive Board, Fabio Panetta, has issued a speech on a central bank digital currency (CBDC) advocating on behalf of issuing a digital Euro. Europe, like many other jurisdictions around the world, is reviewing the pros and cons of… Read More

May 31, 2023 @ 11:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The European Central Bank (ECB) has published its card fraud report, which is “based on information provided by 20 card payment scheme operators.” Card fraud in 2021 “continued its downward trend, falling to its lowest level since data collection began.” It reportedly “constituted 0.028% of… Read More

May 4, 2023 @ 9:36 am By JD Alois  |  

  The European Central Bank (ECB) has increased its benchmark rate by 25 basis points following a similar move by the US Federal Reserve. In a statement, the ECB said the inflation remains elevated, and the Governing Council concurs with its prior assessment of the… Read More

December 15, 2022 @ 11:08 am By JD Alois  |  

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced an interest rate increase of 50 basis points today on three key rates following similar decions by the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve. The goal is to halt persistent inflation, which is decimating economies around the… Read More

November 30, 2022 @ 10:36 am By JD Alois  |  

The European Central Bank (ECB) has published a blog post that predicts the demise of Bitcoin – the world’s most popular cryptocurrency. Authored by Ulrich Bindseil and Jürgen Schaaf, entitled “Bitcoin’s Last Stand,” the article claims that Bitcoin is in its “last gasp before the… Read More

September 19, 2022 @ 10:04 am By JD Alois  |  

It has been widely reported that the European Central Bank (ECB), has selected Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) alongside CaixaBank, Worldline AS, Nexi SpA, and EPI, to participate in a prototyping exercise as part of a review of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) or digital Euro. The… Read More

May 24, 2022 @ 8:43 am By JD Alois  |  

Contagion is a scary term. Systemic risk is its friendlier sibling but both raise eyebrows. Today, the European Central Bank (ECB) is bringing attention to the possibility of crypto contagion as interest grows in digital assets and recent events highlight the ability for a rapid… Read More

May 22, 2022 @ 2:05 pm By JD Alois  |  

European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde hammered cryptocurrencies this past week during an interview with a Dutch broadcaster according to a report in Bloomberg. Lagarde, an EU official who has long expressed her interest in digital assets, is quoted stating: “My very humble assessment… Read More

February 16, 2022 @ 9:28 am By JD Alois  |  

In a speech delivered to the European Parliament, Christine Lagarde, the President of the European Central Bank (ECB), stated that a decision on a digital Euro will be made by 2024. The ECB decided to launch the investigation phase of the digital euro project in… Read More

December 20, 2021 @ 11:41 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The European Central Bank (ECB) has published an action plan to address the recommendations of an independent review “mandated by the ECB’s Governing Council in November 2020, following the five major incidents that affected TARGET2 and TARGET2 Securities in 2020.” The update from the ECB… Read More

August 10, 2021 @ 9:38 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

A glitch in the European Central Bank’s payment system left several Eurozone commercial and central banks far off target Monday afternoon. It is the latest in a long run of issues plaguing the program. The Target system, which is supposed to connect commercial and central… Read More