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Multilateral financial assistance to Ukraine - January 2024
This paper provides a snapshot of multilateral financial assistance provided to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022 by the European Union and its bodies (European Investment Bank), international financial institutions (International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) and groups of bilateral creditors (“The Group of Creditors of Ukraine”). The paper aims to increase understanding and support scrutiny of international ...
Before the war: Russia's economic indicators and trade with EU
The data in this infographic illustrate the extent of trade between the EU and Russia in the years up to the latter launching its war on Ukraine, as well as the state of Russia’s economy more generally in the same period. This is an update of an infographic originally drafted by Martin Russell and Giulio Sabbati in May 2016.
Unfair terms in Swiss franc loans: Overview of European Court of Justice case law
In the first decade of the 21st century, loans denominated in or indexed to foreign currencies, in particular the Swiss franc, became very popular in a number of EU Member States, including Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Austria, Poland, Romania, and Slovenia, and also in two non-EU countries, Montenegro and Serbia. For a certain period, in some Member States these loans became the most popular type of loan issued to consumers. By pegging loans to a stable foreign currency, banks could lend more money ...
Presupuesto rectificativo n.º 7/2020: Actualización de los ingresos (recursos propios)
El objetivo del proyecto de presupuesto rectificativo n.º 7/2020 (PPR 7/2020) es actualizar la parte de ingresos del presupuesto con el fin de tener en cuenta la evolución reciente de la economía. Debido a la pandemia de coronavirus, las perspectivas de la economía europea han cambiado significativamente desde la adopción del presupuesto. El PPR 7/2020 propone los siguientes ajustes en la parte de ingresos del presupuesto de 2020: la actualización de las estimaciones de los recursos propios tradicionales ...
Virtual currencies and central banks monetary policy: challenges ahead
Virtual currencies are a contemporary form of private money. Thanks to their technological properties, their global transaction networks are relatively safe, transparent, and fast. This gives them good prospects for further development. However, they remain unlikely to challenge the dominant position of sovereign currencies and central banks, especially those in major currency areas. As with other innovations, virtual currencies pose a challenge to financial regulators, in particular because of their ...
The political crisis in Venezuela
In December 2015, the results of elections to the Venezuelan National Assembly saw the Democratic Unity Roundtable coalition (MUD) prevail by a wide majority over the ruling Socialist Unified Party of Venezuela (PSUV) of President Nicolás Maduro. Since then, Venezuela has faced increasing political crisis. Initiatives by the duly elected Parliament have been systematically blocked, first by the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) and the National Electoral Council, and since August 2017 by the new National ...
What should the ECB “new normal” look like?
We review the set of arguments in favour of adding permanently balance sheet policies to the central bank toolkit. Balance sheet policies could support financial stability and complement the role of the standard – pre-crisis – policy to enhance macroeconomic stability. There are two major challenges though. The first one refers to the trade-off between effectiveness and distortions. Conventional interest rate policy aims at market neutrality whereas balance sheet policies target specific securities ...
Effectiveness of the ECB Programme of Asset Purchases: Where Do We Stand?
In this compilation of notes - requested by the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) for the June 2016 Monetary Dialogue - a number of monetary experts (members of the monetary expert panel) review the ECB programme of asset purchases and make an assessment one year after its first implementation assess the effectiveness make an assessment of.
How Relevant Are the New Elements in the 2016 Stress Test Design?
The 2016 EU-wide stress test requires banks to assess the impact of exchange rate movements on the quality of their foreign exchange lending. This is useful but not sufficient information for supervisors to be able to assess the implications of exchange rate risk for bank solvency. The 2016 stress test further asks banks to report in detail the expected future costs associated with already known misconduct cases. Information of this kind enables supervisors to ascertain whether banks’ current levels ...
Switzerland's economy: Clouds on the horizon?
Switzerland is stable, prosperous, and has the most competitive economy in the world. However, the strong franc and the potential economic repercussions of the February 2014 referendum 'against mass immigration' pose new challenges to Swiss economic competitiveness and growth, which the government elected in October 2015 will have to address in the coming months.