<b>Let’s not be beastly to the bankers</b>

January 01, 1999

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Headline: Let’s not be beastly to the bankers Source: Euromoney Date: September 2001 Author: Anja Helk This summer the euro began to strengthen, the European Central Bank pleased markets and politicians with a long-awaited quarter-point rate cut and criticism of the policy conduct of the ECB receded. It may be time for a new assessment of how the bank has been doing. Clearly it has inherited flaws from the political compromises made to set it up. Is it in such a hopeless state that mistakes will happen again, or were past errors excusable gaffes in an otherwise reasonably successful performance? The Frankfurt-based European Central Bank has been described for most of its short existence in pretty derogatory terms: arrogant, incompetent, out of touch, lacking transparency and credibility – the list goes on. Throughout this period, comparisons with the US Federal Reserve have been particularly unfavourable. This year, while the Federal Reserve has cut rates often and deep to fight off recession, the ECB has done little. Fed chairman Alan Greenspan looks like a hero and ECB president Wim Duisenberg has attracted calls for his resignation.

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Topics

Banking