J.L.M. Campuzano (Spanish Banking Association) | From recent ECB statistics, there would seem to be a recovery in financing in line with the monetary authority’s implict goal when it implemented its extreme measures.
José Luis M. Campuzano (Spanish Banking Association) | Citi flags that the US/Euro Area monetary conditions have noticeably narrowed since the start of the year. Financial conditions have relaxed in the US and tightened in the Eurozone mainly due to the trend in the relative exchange rate.
J.L.M. Campuzano | On Thursday, the ECB confirmed what many analysts were expecting: the limit on expansive monetary measures has now probably been reached, without this meaning there will be an immediate reversal. And the reason for this? Simply that the risks are more balanced now.
There are still divergences between the monetary policies of the Fed and the ECB. But if Draghi meets expectations for progressive withdrawal of the stimuli from September and rate hikes in the first few months of 2018, a new “currencies war” is not on the cards in the near future.
The surprisingly low annual eurozone inflation reading for March at 1.5% will finally end speculation about an earlier end to the negative deposit rate in today’s ECB’s governing council meeting, as reported by Julius Bär’s experts. Both ECB Chief Economist Peter Praet and ECB President Mario Draghi have already made clear in recent weeks that interest rates will not rise before the ECB’s asset-purchasing programme comes to an end.
J. L. M. Campuzano (Spanish Banking Association) | Stable inflation centred around levels of 2.0%…A scenario dominated by rising inflation is as complicated as one where deflation and potential low economic growth can create a vicious circle difficult to exit. Especially in a context of high indebtedness.
Lately there is growing criticism of the ECB over its supposed “democratic deficit”. It is being accused of oversteppping the mark by being obliged to take “political decisions”.
I believe central banks don’t control long-term rates – which are decisive for investment – and that they can influence them in what we would call normal circumstances, namely when GDP is expanding and inflation is at its optimum level. The central bank trys to control the private market’s expectations, but it doesn’t always succeed.
J.L Campuzano (Spanish Banking Association) | What is clear from ECB President Mario Draghi’s speech last Thursday is that investors consider we are closer than farther away from the start of monetary normalisation against a backdrop of economic optimism.
Once again Mario Draghi followed the expected script: it kept interest rates at 0%, where they have been for the last year; it left the deposit facility unchanged at -0.4% and did not modify the debt purchasing programme.