Europe bids to prop up banks
AFP
2011-10-07
The European Central Bank has announced new measures to provide cash-strapped banks with liquidity as US President Barack Obama stressed Europe must act quickly on its ongoing debt crisis.
Markets cheered the news the ECB would beef up "non-standard" action to help out lenders as the European Commission called for "co-ordinated action" to recapitalise banks and Germany said it should be done without delay.
European equity markets were up more than three per cent as hopes grew that political leaders were finally getting to grips with the crisis.
While ECB chief Jean-Claude Trichet stopped short of cutting rates at the last meeting of his eight-year term, he said the bank would continue to assist lenders although he also urged them to bolster their balance sheets.
The ECB "urges banks to do all that is necessary to reinforce balance sheets (and governments) ... need to take decisive and front-loaded action to bolster public confidence in the sustainability of government finances", said Trichet.
The Bank of England also took bold steps to reinvigorate the sluggish British economy, reinstituting its quantitative easing (QE) policy - whereby it pumps cash directly into the system to boost activity.
The BoE voted in favour of increasing its QE policy by STG75 billion ($A120 billion) to STG275 billion over a four-month period while keeping its main interest rate at a record-low 0.50 per cent.
Earlier, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said: "We are now proposing to the member states to have a co-ordinated action to recapitalise banks and get rid of toxic assets they may have."
Speaking to Euronews TV, Barroso urged action to clear up what he termed a "real mess" in the eurozone.
While Europeans scrambled to reassure investors that the continent's banks were safe, Obama reiterated his warning that a failure to tackle the crisis in Europe would quickly spread.
"Our economy really needs a jolt right now. The problems Europe is having today could have a very real effect on our economy at a time when it's already fragile," Obama told a White House news conference.
Europeans "have got to act fast", he said.
"We have got a G20 meeting coming up in November. My strong hope is that by the time of that G20 meeting, that they have a very clear concrete plan of action that is sufficient to the task."
In Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted banks should be recapitalised without delay, if needed.
"I think there would be a very clear need (to recapitalise) because this is money that is safely invested ... I don't think we should hesitate," Merkel said.
There would be "far greater damage" if banks needed to be rescued by governments, she said. "But the first step is for banks to recapitalise themselves."
As if to emphasise the urgency of the task facing Europe, the NYSE Euronext stock exchange suspended trading in the shares of the under-fire Franco-Belgian bank, Dexia, at the request of the Belgian market regulator as the French and Belgian governments put together a rescue package for the lender.
The European Banking Authority is readying an audit of the strength of the continent's main banks, assuming they would have to take large losses from their holdings of bonds issued by weak eurozone member states, especially Greece.
Speculation is growing that private investors will have to write off more of Greece's debt than previously thought, perhaps as much as 50 per cent.
But in some positive news for Greece, eurozone chief Jean-Claude Juncker said that an international group of auditors assessing the state of Greek reforms would likely give the green light for its next slice of aid.
"The troika (the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Union) will probably present the report on October 24," said Juncker, who heads the group of eurozone finance ministers.
"I think the troika will make a positive decision," he added.
Greece says it needs the next tranche of aid, worth some eight billion euros, to pay its bills, but eurozone finance ministers delayed action on the bailout at a meeting Monday in Luxembourg.
Richard Carter
AFP
2011-10-07
The European Central Bank has announced new measures to provide cash-strapped banks with liquidity as US President Barack Obama stressed Europe must act quickly on its ongoing debt crisis.
Markets cheered the news the ECB would beef up "non-standard" action to help out lenders as the European Commission called for "co-ordinated action" to recapitalise banks and Germany said it should be done without delay.
European equity markets were up more than three per cent as hopes grew that political leaders were finally getting to grips with the crisis.
While ECB chief Jean-Claude Trichet stopped short of cutting rates at the last meeting of his eight-year term, he said the bank would continue to assist lenders although he also urged them to bolster their balance sheets.
The ECB "urges banks to do all that is necessary to reinforce balance sheets (and governments) ... need to take decisive and front-loaded action to bolster public confidence in the sustainability of government finances", said Trichet.
The Bank of England also took bold steps to reinvigorate the sluggish British economy, reinstituting its quantitative easing (QE) policy - whereby it pumps cash directly into the system to boost activity.
The BoE voted in favour of increasing its QE policy by STG75 billion ($A120 billion) to STG275 billion over a four-month period while keeping its main interest rate at a record-low 0.50 per cent.
Earlier, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said: "We are now proposing to the member states to have a co-ordinated action to recapitalise banks and get rid of toxic assets they may have."
Speaking to Euronews TV, Barroso urged action to clear up what he termed a "real mess" in the eurozone.
While Europeans scrambled to reassure investors that the continent's banks were safe, Obama reiterated his warning that a failure to tackle the crisis in Europe would quickly spread.
"Our economy really needs a jolt right now. The problems Europe is having today could have a very real effect on our economy at a time when it's already fragile," Obama told a White House news conference.
Europeans "have got to act fast", he said.
"We have got a G20 meeting coming up in November. My strong hope is that by the time of that G20 meeting, that they have a very clear concrete plan of action that is sufficient to the task."
In Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted banks should be recapitalised without delay, if needed.
"I think there would be a very clear need (to recapitalise) because this is money that is safely invested ... I don't think we should hesitate," Merkel said.
There would be "far greater damage" if banks needed to be rescued by governments, she said. "But the first step is for banks to recapitalise themselves."
As if to emphasise the urgency of the task facing Europe, the NYSE Euronext stock exchange suspended trading in the shares of the under-fire Franco-Belgian bank, Dexia, at the request of the Belgian market regulator as the French and Belgian governments put together a rescue package for the lender.
The European Banking Authority is readying an audit of the strength of the continent's main banks, assuming they would have to take large losses from their holdings of bonds issued by weak eurozone member states, especially Greece.
Speculation is growing that private investors will have to write off more of Greece's debt than previously thought, perhaps as much as 50 per cent.
But in some positive news for Greece, eurozone chief Jean-Claude Juncker said that an international group of auditors assessing the state of Greek reforms would likely give the green light for its next slice of aid.
"The troika (the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Union) will probably present the report on October 24," said Juncker, who heads the group of eurozone finance ministers.
"I think the troika will make a positive decision," he added.
Greece says it needs the next tranche of aid, worth some eight billion euros, to pay its bills, but eurozone finance ministers delayed action on the bailout at a meeting Monday in Luxembourg.
Richard Carter
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