Draghi raises lending to Greek banks and calls for debt relief July 16, 2015 GREECE was given a major boost by the European Central Bank (ECB) yesterday as it called for debt relief and lifted the amount that could be lent to its banks. ECB chief Mario Draghi said it was “uncontroversial” that Greece is in need of debt relief. It goes against the view of most of the Eurozone, who are resisting [...]
Four key takes from the ECB’s July presser July 16, 2015 1. ECB has hiked ELA to Greece: Draghi confirmed that the European Central Bank will increase the amount of liquidity assistance available to Greek banks by €900m in one week. He said that approval of bridge financing, plus the Greek parliament's move to vote in favour of austerity rules outlined by its lenders drove the decision. [...]
ECB holds Eurozone interest rates July 16, 2015 The European Central Bank (ECB) kept interest rates unchanged at records lows, at a meeting of its 25-member governing council today. "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 [...]
Greek debt crisis: Mario Draghi turns up the heat on banks July 6, 2015 The Eurozone’s central bank piled more pressure on Greece ahead of today’s crucial summits, by making it harder for the country’s struggling banks to access emergency loans. The move, revealed yesterday, is not expected to push any Greek banks to the brink, but was widely seen as a turning of the screws on Greece that [...]
Greek crisis: ECB maintains emergency funding for Greek banks and imposes bigger haircut on Greek bank collateral July 6, 2015 The European Central Bank (ECB) has imposed a bigger haircut on Greek banks making it harder for them to receive the emergency funding they need to stay afloat. The governing council's move means Greek banks will have to cough up more assets in exchange for Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA), however a source told Reuters that the [...]
Greek debt crisis: ECB will maintain ELA emergency loan support to Greek banks June 28, 2015 The European Central Bank (ECB) will keep supplying Greece with emergency loans to keep the country's banks running after Greek PM Alexis Tsipras called a surprise referendum on its latest bailout deal. “We continue to work closely with the Bank of Greece and we strongly endorse the commitment of Member States in pledging to take [...]
Greek debt crisis: Gretigue? Alexis Tsipras vents on Twitter as bailout referendum and ECB decision looms June 28, 2015 Maybe he's a bit tired and emotional as his country teeters on the edge of default – and let's face it, everyone else trying to keep up with developments in Greece certainly is, in what's been dubbed "Gretigue" – but Greek PM Alexis Tsipras has vented his frustrations in a hashtag fueled tirade against Europe's [...]
European Central Bank president Mario Draghi tells European Parliament ball lies “squarely” in Greece’s court June 15, 2015 European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said today that the ball lies in Greece's court, during a testimony before the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, after talks stalled last night. "While all actors will now need to go the extra mile, the ball lies squarely in the camp of the Greek government to take [...]
S&P: Greek non-payment to ECB “wouldn’t mean default” June 15, 2015 If Greece fails to repay €6.7bn (£4.8bn) worth of bonds held by the European Central Bank (ECB) at the end of July, this will not constitute a default, at least under criteria from credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P). Read more: With no deal on the cards, would the Eurozone be able to contain contagion from Greek [...]
Bonds rocked again after Mario Draghi’s volatility warning June 4, 2015 European traders faced extraordinary levels of volatility yesterday, just a day after European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi’s warning that markets should “get used to it”. The volatility of the German bund, an interest-paying IOU from the German government, was the biggest surprise, given that it is one of the more stable bonds. The [...]