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ECB adopts opinion on appointment of its future President

Governing Council has no objection to proposed candidate Christine Lagarde The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) today adopted an opinion on the recommendation from the Council of the European Union on the appointment of the future ECB President. The Governing Council has no objection to the proposed candidate, Christine Lagarde, who is […]

Monetary policy decisions

At today’s meeting the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (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. The Governing Council expects the key ECB interest rates to remain […]

Euro area economic and financial developments by institutional sector: first quarter of 2019

Euro area net saving was broadly unchanged at €793 billion in the four quarters to the first quarter of 2019. Euro area net non-financial investment increased to €523 billion (from €503 billion in the previous quarter), due to increased investments by households and non-financial corporations. Euro area net lending to the rest of the world decreased to €280 billion (from €301 […]

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published today its updated Risk Dashboard based on the first quarter 2019 Solvency II data. The results show that the risk exposures of the European Union insurance sector remain overall stable, with macro and market risks now at a high level. This is due to a further decline in swap rates and lower returns on investments in 2018, which put strain on those life insurers offering guaranteed rates. The low interest rate environment remains a key risk for the insurance sector. Credit risks continue at medium level with broadly stable Credit Default Swap (CDS) spreads for government and corporate bonds. Profitability and solvency risks increased due to lower return on investments for life insurers observed in year-end 2018 data. Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR) ratios are above 100% for most undertakings in the sample even when excluding the impact of the transitional measures. Market perceptions were marked by a performance of insurers’ stocks broadly in line with overall equity markets, while median CDS spreads have slightly increased. No change was observed in insurers’ external ratings and rating outlooks. Background This Risk Dashboard based on Solvency II data summarises the main risks and vulnerabilities in the European Union insurance sector through a set of risk indicators of the first quarter of 2019. This data is based on financial stability and prudential reporting collected from 96 insurance groups and 2,868 solo insurance undertakings.

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) is publishing the list of Reuters Instrument Codes (RICs) of financial market data for the calculation of the technical information relating to the risk-free interest rates (RFR) term structures, namely of the following rates: Interest rate swap rates Zero coupon government bond interest rates Inter-bank offered rates Overnight indexed […]

EIOPA’s July 2019 Risk Dashboard shows broadly stable risk trends for the European Union insurance sector, with macro and market risks now at a high level

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published today its updated Risk Dashboard based on the first quarter 2019 Solvency II data.

As market matures central banks conclude that a formal gold agreement is no longer necessary

Signatories of the fourth Central Bank Gold Agreement no longer see need for formal agreement as market has developed and matured Signatory central banks confirm gold remains an important element of global monetary reserves and none of them currently has plans to sell significant amounts of gold The European Central Bank (ECB) and 21 other central banks […]

ECB publishes legal acts relating to targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTROs)

ECB defines the conditions for participation in TLTRO III and other operational aspects ECB introduces a change to the notification period of voluntary early repayments for TLTRO II The European Central Bank (ECB) today publishes a legal act adopted on 22 July 2019 relating to the third series of targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTRO III). […]