Central Bank


Ireland: Radical Group Asks ICC To Investigate ECB’s Makhlouf Over Israel Bonds

Ireland: Radical Group Asks ICC To Investigate ECB’s Makhlouf Over Israel Bonds

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign has asked the International Criminal Court to investigate European Central Bank Governing Council member Gabriel Makhlouf, who heads the Central Bank of Ireland, over the Irish central bank's role in regulating the sale of Israeli government bonds in the European Union.

28 August 2026
ECB Insight: Structural Portfolio Likely Tilted Shorter, With Size Left Open

ECB Insight: Structural Portfolio Likely Tilted Shorter, With Size Left Open

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – As the European Central Bank works through the unfinished elements of its new operational framework, one of the longer-term questions is how structural reserve provision should eventually be divided between refinancing operations and securities holdings.

28 August 2026
ECB July Meeting Account: Another Rate Hike Likely Unless Inflation Outlook Improves

ECB July Meeting Account: Another Rate Hike Likely Unless Inflation Outlook Improves

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Another European Central Bank interest rate hike "would likely be necessary unless the inflation outlook improved significantly," an account of the ECB's July meeting showed Thursday, although policymakers stressed that they were not committed in advance to raising rates in September.

27 August 2026
ECB Insight: Structural LTRO Trigger Likely to Be a Judgment Call, Not a Number

ECB Insight: Structural LTRO Trigger Likely to Be a Judgment Call, Not a Number

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – As technical work on the European Central Bank's operational framework review gets under way, one of the main pieces of unfinished business is how and when the ECB should begin meeting part of the banking system's recurring liquidity needs through new structural refinancing operations.

27 August 2026
ECB's Cipollone Says Pontes Tokenized Settlement Service to Go Live This Year

ECB's Cipollone Says Pontes Tokenized Settlement Service to Go Live This Year

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Executive Board member Piero Cipollone on Wednesday said the Eurosystem plans to launch its Pontes service for settling tokenized transactions in central bank money this year, with 24/7 operation and multi-currency capability envisaged by mid-2028.

26 August 2026
ECB's Schnabel Says Further Tightening Necessary as Inflation Risks Rise

ECB's Schnabel Says Further Tightening Necessary as Inflation Risks Rise

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel said further monetary policy tightening would be necessary, with the prolonged Middle East conflict and unexpectedly resilient economic activity resulting in upside inflation risks.

26 August 2026
ECB Insight: Lagarde Succession Field Still Favors Knot, With De Cos His Main Rival

ECB Insight: Lagarde Succession Field Still Favors Knot, With De Cos His Main Rival

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Three months after we argued that the remarkable stability of the field of plausible candidates to succeed European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde was increasingly good news for former De Nederlandsche Bank President Klaas Knot, strikingly little has changed in this respect.

25 August 2026
ECB Insight: September Hike Increasingly Likely, Path Thereafter Much Less Clear

ECB Insight: September Hike Increasingly Likely, Path Thereafter Much Less Clear

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – A further 25bp European Central Bank interest rate hike in September looks increasingly likely, with unexpectedly resilient economic activity leaving little obvious reason for policymakers to confound longstanding market expectations – embedded as well in the baseline outlook – of further tightening.

24 August 2026
ECB's Kazāks: Well Positioned To Hike If Needed, September Decision Open

ECB's Kazāks: Well Positioned To Hike If Needed, September Decision Open

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Mārtiņš Kazāks on Friday said the ECB was well positioned to raise interest rates further if necessary to return inflation to target, while stressing that it was too early to judge the outcome of next month's policy meeting.

21 August 2026
ECB's Rehn Says No Clear Signs of Energy-Shock Second-Round Effects

ECB's Rehn Says No Clear Signs of Energy-Shock Second-Round Effects

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Olli Rehn said Wednesday that euro area wage developments remained moderate and showed no strong evidence so far of second-round effects from the Middle East energy shock, while saying the Governing Council would reassess the inflation outlook at its September meeting.

19 August 2026
ECB’s Lagarde: Domestic Demand to Remain Main Euro Area Growth Driver In 2026

ECB’s Lagarde: Domestic Demand to Remain Main Euro Area Growth Driver In 2026

By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday that domestic demand was expected to remain the main source of euro area growth this year, arguing that Europe needed to turn its recent domestic resilience into a more lasting engine of economic expansion.

19 August 2026