https://www.esm.europa.eu/blog/time-euro-safe-asset-futures Integrated and more liquid European financial markets could help enhance the euro’s global role, an advantage an increase in euro area safe assets now being issued could offer. There are various sources that contribute to the development of a euro safe asset, including highly-rated member states’...

https://www.esm.europa.eu/blog/outside-box-euro-magnet-central-banks-again Together with my funding team, we have analysed the demand and offer some insights into what this means and why it matters. In developing the euro as an international currency, an important element is to understand how reserve managers of central banks assess issuers of euro-denominated bonds such...

https://www.esm.europa.eu/blog/out-box-new-esm-new-crisis The Covid-19 pandemic is a crisis measured in the tragic human cost of fatalities as well as an expected sharp global economic recession in 2020. Investors are understandably keen to know how the ESM, as a crisis resolution body, can help Europe overcome the pandemic. At a Global Investor Call...

https://www.esm.europa.eu/blog/out-box-investing-better-tomorrow Two years ago, I took my family to Australia to show our young kids the natural beauty and biodiversity of our planet. To our sadness, we found pristine beaches threatened by plastic from around the world, and sick endangered ocean creatures, the victims of human actions. It was a personal wake-up...

https://www.esm.europa.eu/blog/savings-spending-fast-track-recovery During the coronavirus pandemic, euro area household savings – income not used for consumption – rose to unprecedented levels, as was the case in many industrial countries. In 2020, the annual savings ratio in the euro area, household savings[1] as a fraction of their disposable income, increased by...

https://www.esm.europa.eu/blog/reviving-securitisation-europe-cmu Securitisation is the financial practice of pooling various types of debt, such as residential mortgages, car loans or credit card debt, and selling their related cash flows to third party investors as securities. Due to expansion of poorer quality subprime mortgages and complex and opaque...

https://www.esm.europa.eu/blog/euronomics-fresh-look-greek-debt-sustainability Greece emerged from the past debt crisis more resilient. It conducted a number of reforms, including making the public administration more efficient, simplifying licensing, streamlining procedures, and facilitating trade. As a result, the Greek economy was structurally more resilient at the start of...

https://www.esm.europa.eu/blog/how-esm-was-built-coding-language We have created a single cloud-based banking ecosystem that enables end-to-end workflow for our trades and position keeping, linking eight critical ESM functions covering the whole trade lifecycle. The system optimises time, eliminates paperwork, and reduces operational risk regardless of differing...

https://www.esm.europa.eu/blog/strengthening-international-role-euro European Union (EU) policymakers have recognised the strategic importance of the topic, placing it high on the agenda of the upcoming March Euro summit. In addition, the European Commission has highlighted the need for more geo-political financial sovereignty. We contributed to the debate with a...

https://www.esm.europa.eu/blog/europe-greening-world-brussels-effect-sustainable-finance Governments, enterprises, and investors are increasingly conscious of the sustainability risks our economies and societies face. While the Covid-19 pandemic poses a grave short-term risk, climate change presents the most severe long-term challenge. One of this blog’s authors, Anu Bradford, coined...

https://www.esm.europa.eu/blog/changing-face-euro-supra-bond-market The bond market is also more attractive for issuers than a decade ago. Today execution risk for SSA issuers has been reduced. Meanwhile, order books for SSA bond issues have mushroomed. Trust in Europe is higher among investors than a decade ago; the fear of a euro break-up is behind us and, unlike...

https://www.esm.europa.eu/blog/taking-stock-euro-area-pandemic-response At the onset of the pandemic, government measures to buffer their economies were complemented by swift EU support of furlough schemes for workers and liquidity support for companies. In addition, the Recovery and Resilience Facility was launched to make the EU greener and more digital. At the...

https://www.esm.europa.eu/blog/how-esm-aaa-bonds-weathered-pandemic-storm When the pandemic hit Europe, the initial market shock was calmed by the positive reaction to the European Central Bank’s €1,850 billion monetary Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) bond-buying operations and the European fiscal policy response: a package of measures from the European...

https://www.esm.europa.eu/blog/european-supervision-fit-capital-markets-union Last summer, a High Level Forum reported on the progress needed to make CMU work. One of this blog’s authors was a Forum participant. The authors of this blog followed up by publishing a blog post detailing the five inescapable “S” features CMU needs. In November, the European Commission, which...

https://www.esm.europa.eu/blog/digital-investor-relations-and-hybrid-journeys-future Little did I realise when I flew back from Northern Africa a year ago that February would be my last physical meeting with investors for the remainder of the year. In March 2020, all travel abruptly stopped as countries went into lockdown and travel restrictions were imposed due to Covid-19. The...

https://www.esm.europa.eu/blog/showing-how-eu-solidarity-calmed-markets-over-brexit In this blog post, we track market responses in the weeks before and after the Brexit vote as well as in the first week of January 2021 when the EU-UK agreement entered into force. It reveals that market tension has never again reached the peaks attained back in 2016, not even during the current...

https://www.esm.europa.eu/blog/teleworking-transforming-insights-progress In my recent column Inner Workings: When a global health crisis hits home, I announced a survey the ESM conducted in September to look into how extensive, pandemic-related teleworking affected our staff and our ways of working. Today, I can reveal some of the findings of this survey and explain how...

https://www.esm.europa.eu/blog/esm-reform-healing-euro-area-pandemic-scars-and-beyond Covid-19 pandemic leaves scars on the euro area economy The pandemic is taking a tremendous toll not only on the health of citizens, but also on their livelihoods. Unemployment is rising; businesses are struggling. Uncertainty about the duration and impact of the current pandemic remains high and a...

https://www.esm.europa.eu/blog/backstop-single-resolution-fund-now Banks are in a better position than during the euro crisis… Banks were better prepared for a downturn. Policymakers and banking supervisors learned from the past crisis, tightened up the regulatory toolkit and set the right system of rules and incentives to make banks develop their risk management...

https://www.esm.europa.eu/blog/assessing-sovereigns-market-access-euro-area In this blog post, we will show that macro-financial indicators can signal risks to market tensions before they materialise, giving policy-makers as much as a year forewarning to tailor a response to the unique origin and impact of each crisis. Economic discipline and reforms stemming from the debt...