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ECB backs simpler, not looser, bank rules, sources say

The European Central Bank will propose simplifying rules on capital buffers required of banks, pruning some of the complex regulation put in place after the global financial crisis, two sources familiar with the proposals told Reuters.

Business • 10 Dec

ECB's next move may be a hike, but not anytime soon

The European Central Bank's next move may be an interest rate hike, rather than a cut as some still expect, but it will not happen in the near future, ECB board member Isabel Schnabel told Bloomberg News in an interview published today.

Business • 08 Dec

Euro zone inflation rises, pointing to steady ECB rates

Euro zone inflation unexpectedly ticked up last month, likely solidifying bets that no further European Central Bank rate cuts are coming anytime soon, data from Eurostat showed today.

Business • 02 Dec

Euro zone banks should prepare for risk of dollar squeeze

Euro zone lenders with big dollar businesses should bulk up their liquidity and capital cushions to withstand any squeeze in a US currency made more volatile by President Donald Trump's actions, the European Central Bank said today.

Business • 26 Nov

ECB reviews claims Deutsche Bank downplayed risks - FT

The European Central Bank is examining claims that Deutsche Bank underplayed risks in its balance sheet and gave a misleading picture of its financial health, the Financial Times reported today.

Business • 25 Nov

EU missing the boat on AI, Lagarde warns

Europe is jeopardising its own future by missing the boat on artificial intelligence and must quickly remove obstacles that prevent the diffusion of this new technology, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said today.

Business • 24 Nov

ECB set to hold rates through 2026 on steady outlook

The European Central Bank will hold interest rates at least until the end of 2026, according to a majority of economists polled by Reuters, who also expected the euro zone economy to grow steadily with contained inflation despite a highly-uncertain global outlook.

Business • 19 Nov

A sign in front of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt

Europe's banks face 'unprecedentedly high' risk of shocks

Euro zone banks must prepare for unprecedented shocks causing severe disruptions with far-reaching consequences for financial systems, the European Central Bank said today as it outlined its supervisory priorities for the next three years.

Business • 18 Nov

ECB board revamp exposes diversity failings

Euro zone officials have embarked on a two-year process to replace most of the European Central Bank's executive board, including President Christine Lagarde, raising questions along the way about how well the institution represents the people it serves.

Business • 17 Nov

European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde speaks during a press conference on Eurozone monetary policy in Florence

ECB's Lagarde replaces Fed's Powell on 2 BIS committees

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is to take over from Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell as head of two of the Bank for International Settlements' key economic groups, the central bank umbrella body said today.

Business • 12 Nov

Chinese goods dumping started before tariffs - ECB study

Weak domestic demand rather than US tariffs is the main reason China is dumping surplus product on European markets at rock-bottom prices at the expense of domestic producers, a European Central Bank study argued today.

Business • 11 Nov

Euro zone economy grows at fastest pace in over two years

The euro zone economy expanded at its fastest rate since May 2023 in October, breaking out of the subdued growth pattern seen earlier this year as service sector activity accelerated and demand conditions improved.

Business • 05 Nov

ECB keeps rates unchanged as economy holds up for now

The European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged at 2% for the third meeting in a row today and offered no hints about future moves as it enjoys a rare period of low inflation and steady growth, even in the face of trade turbulence.

Business • 30 Oct

Euro zone banks tighten credit access on trade risks

Euro zone banks unexpectedly tightened access to corporate credit in the third quarter, with German lenders leading the way on fears over the economic outlook and tariffs, the European Central Bank said based on a quarterly survey.

Business • 28 Oct

Euro coins sit next to each other, and a fragment of a 100 euro banknote sits in the background

Euro zone consumers maintain benign inflation view - ECB

Euro zone consumers have lowered their inflation expectations for the next year and kept unchanged their view further ahead, indicating that price growth is no longer a major worry, the European Central Bank's Consumer Expectations Survey showed.

Business • 28 Oct

After eight rate cuts since mid-2024, the ECB is widely expected to hold interest rates steady at 2% for a third consecutive meeting

Fed and ECB rate decisions to be announced this week

The US Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates again this week.

Business • 28 Oct

Euro zone business activity growth accelerates - PMI

Euro zone business activity unexpectedly grew at a faster pace in October as companies received new orders at the quickest rate in two and a half years, suggesting the bloc's economy gained momentum at the start of the final quarter, a survey showed today.

Business • 24 Oct

ECB to pause rates at least until 2027 - poll

The European Central Bank has finished cutting interest rates as inflation holds around its 2% target and the economy marches steadily on, according to a growing majority of economists in a Reuters poll.

Business • 22 Oct

ECB's Lane flags dollar risk for banks amid tariff woes

Euro zone banks may come under pressure if US dollar funding - the lifeblood of financial markets - were to dry up, the European Central Bank's chief economist Philip Lane said today amid concern over US President Donald Trump's policies.

Business • 21 Oct

ECB eyes keeping rates steady for now - minutes

The European Central Bank believes current interest rate levels are robust enough in "managing shocks", minutes of its September meeting showed today, fuelling expectations of no further cuts for now.

Business • 09 Oct

European interest rates are at an 'appropriate level', the European Central Bank's Governing Council member Jose Luis Escriva said today

ECB's Escriva says interest rates at 'appropriate' level

European interest rates are at an "appropriate level" and there is no need for further guidance from the European Central Bank, its Governing Council member Jose Luis Escriva told an event in Madrid today.

Business • 08 Oct

ECB rate decisions sensitive to inflation risk shifts

The European Central Bank will be attentive to any shift in the risk profile of euro zone inflation and the case for further policy easing would be strengthened if the risk of undershooting the target increased, ECB chief economist Philip Lane said.

Business • 06 Oct

ECB picks AI startup to prevent digital euro fraud

The European Central Bank said it had picked a Portuguese startup focussed on artificial intelligence to help prevent fraud in its planned digital euro currency.

Business • 03 Oct

Euro zone inflation picks up to 2.2% in September

Euro zone inflation accelerated last month on higher services prices and a smaller decline in energy costs, likely reinforcing bets on the ECB keeping interest rates on hold for some time.

Business • 01 Oct

Euro zone consumers lift inflation expectations - ECB

Euro zone consumers raised some of their inflation expectations in August and saw higher income growth in the year ahead, the European Central Bank's monthly Consumer Expectations Survey showed today.

Business • 26 Sep