Management of Foreign Exchange Reserves of the European Central Bank

The aim of the article is to analyze the foreign exchange reserves of the European Central Bank and the methods of their modern management. As a result of the study, it was proven that when implementing foreign reserve management policy, the European Central Bank and national central banks should pursue the objectives of the current monetary policy for future generations. Foreign exchange reserves are a special good that only the current generation and the current government cannot use. The character of the article implies different research methods: analysis of the sources of law, legal dogmatic, comparative dogmatic method. The analysis carried out as part of the study indicates that management of foreign exchange reserves of ECB has an impact on intergenerational justice.

Comparison of the Approach of the Czech National Bank and the European Central Bank to the Effects of the Global Financial Crisis

The latest global crisis, which fully erupted in 2008, can have a significant impact on central banks credibility in the long run. During the last crisis, monetary authorities encountered zero interest rate levels and, as a result, started to use non-standard monetary policy instruments. The Czech National Bank decided to use a less standard instrument in November 2013, when it started to intervene on the foreign exchange market in order to keep the Czech currency at level 27 CZK / EUR. However, the European Central Bank also adopted a non-standard instrument, when chose a path of quantitative easing in 2015 in order to support the euro area economy by purchasing financial assets. The question remains whether the approach of Czech National Bank or the approach of European Central Bank in the crisis and post-crisis period was a more appropriate alternative. With the passage of time from the global financial crisis, it is already possible to compare the approaches of these two central banks and at least partially assess what approach was more appropriate under the given conditions. When comparing the central banks approaches to the crisis, the Czech National Bank was better, both in terms of the rate of interest rate cuts and the resulting inflation with regard to the choice of a non-standard monetary policy instrument. The recent financial crisis has revealed the application of moral hazard in practice, both on behalf of the European Central Bank and the Czech National Bank, which may have a significant impact on their credibility and independence in the coming years.

Does the real estate market behavior predict the trust crisis in the financial sector? The case of the ECB and the Euro

Research background: Based on the history of financial crises, real estate market behavior could be thought of as a key benchmark of trust shifts in the financial sector of the economy. Plunging real estate asset prices accompanied by the financial "bubbles" explosion could be viewed as the harbinger ? even the cause ? of the public trust crash in the financial sector. Purpose of the article: This study intends to assess the extent to which the real estate market behavior determinants, along with financial sector consumers' feelings, are able to predict trust crises in the financial sector, namely to its primary institutions ? European Central Bank and the Euro. Methods: In order to estimate the probability of a trust crisis in the financial sector, two logistic regression logit models were developed based on two types of dependent variables as they reflect trust violations in the financial system primary institutions ? net trust in European Central Bank (Model I) and net support for the Euro (Model II). The research was conducted on quarterly panel data of the EU countries from the euro area covering the period from 2000 to 2019. Logit regressions employed for data processing and analysis were performed in the computational system STATISTICA. Findings & value added: The logit-modeling results show that determinants of irrational real estate buyers' behavior are powerless in predicting the escalation of the trust crisis in the Euro. However, binary models of real estate market behavior could be successfully used to predict the probability of the trust crisis in the European Central Bank. The results show that real house price indices, price to income ratio, price to rent ratio, and rent prices accompanied by the financial sector consumers' feelings are statistically significant, providing the best distribution between the normal times and periods of trust crisis in the European Central Bank. Irrational real estate market behavior may indicate serious problems in the trust violations in the European Central Bank, and it should be a signal for policymakers to take actions towards more efficient financial and real estate market regulation following the behavioral approach.

Are the Forecasts of Professionals Compatible with the Taylor Rule? Evidence from the Euro Area

This article examines if professional forecasters form their expectations regarding the policy rate of the European Central Bank (ECB) consistent with the Taylor rule. In doing so, we assess micro-level data including individual forecasts for the ECB main refinancing operations rate as well as inflation and gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the Euro Area. Our results indicate that professionals indeed form their expectations in line with the Taylor rule. However, this connection has diminished over time, especially after the policy rate hit the zero lower bound. In addition, we also find a relationship between forecasters’ disagreement regarding the policy rate of the ECB and disagreement on future GDP growth, which disappears when controlling for monetary policy shocks proxied by changes in the policy rate in the quarter the forecasts are made.

Climate protection as an opportunity for banks to increase earnings and consumer trust

Banks are currently facing numerous challenges. In addition to the ongoing cheap money policy of the European Central Bank, a regulated market environment and a rapidly progressive digitization, financial institutions are increasingly confronted with topics such as sustainability and climate protection. From the latter derive not only risks but also chances for banks. Sustainability risks can impact different risk categories such as market risks, credit risks, operational risks, and liquidity risks. Moreover, reputational risks can occur in this context. This is especially important as bank customers constantly develop a greater awareness of ecological issues, and thus, develop increasing expectations on how companies – like banks – deal with issues like climate protection and sustainability. For this reason, we will start with a theoretical explanation of the key words and then present the results of our customer survey to highlight the current expectations of bank customers in the context of climate protection. Based on this, we formulate recommendations for banks on how to generate a competitive advantage by engaging in climate protection and by taking sustainable actions.

The cultural origins of institutional trust: The case of the European Central Bank

Does culture have a causal effect on institutional trust? We answer this question by assessing the non-economic determinants of public trust in the European Central Bank. To analyse institutional trust, we employ a novel dataset of citizen perceptions and knowledge about the European Central Bank. Cultural traits are measured by indicators of social trust at the level of Euro area sub-national regions. We show that individuals living in regions with lower social trust systematically exhibit less trust in the European Central Bank. An instrumental variable approach based on historical variables of education and political institutions supports a causal interpretation of our findings. These results are robust across different model specifications and measures of trust.