ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said on the sidelines of a conference today that growth uncertainty in the Eurozone has increased. However, the economy is only going through a slow down. He’s optimistic that “we’ll be able to overcome these negative influences”. And more importantly, “there is no perspective of a recession.” He also noted positives signs in underlying inflation due to rising wages.
Separately, Executive Board member Yves Mersch said “the best solution is to integrate financial stability concerns into monetary policy at the European level – including possible corrections with instruments at national levels.” However, he’s doubtful on a Eurozone wide authority to deal with stability. He said “I doubt that adding an additional European layer without a clear view of who is in charge with what instruments and for what objective will advance the issue”. And, “the time is not ripe for an operationalized standalone macroprudential approach.”
