By Miguel Ampudia, Eduard Betz, Anne Duquerroy, Benjamin Hartung, Vagia Iskaki and Olivier Vergote A small group of banks is crucial for the smooth functioning of euro area sovereign bond markets. They buy bonds from issuing governments and sell them on to final holders. To play this role, they need sufficient resources, especially capital. This blog examines potential signs of strain in the intermediation process. Intermediation services by dealer banks which help connect bond-issuing governments with bond-buying investors have become more...

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By: Romain Veyrune Assessments can help clarify the appropriate capitalization to best ensure a sound institutional financial position Central banks pride themselves on being data-driven and consensus-based. Surprisingly, though, there is little consensus among policymakers on a crucial issue: how much capital should these institutions hold? Unlike commercial banks, central banks don’t have universally prescribed minimum capital requirements. They can’t go bankrupt, because they can always issue their own currency to meet their nominal payment obligations. Even so, a weak capital position...

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Transactions Export Locomotives, Facilitate Purchase of Liquified Natural Gas Washington, DC – The Export-Import Bank of the United States’ (EXIM) Board of Directors today approved two transactions totaling nearly $285 million. The first of the two approvals today supports the export of Wabtec Corporation modernized locomotives to Grupo Mexico Transportes (GMXT). The nearly $185 million in financing will support GMXT’s fleet renewal program and support 600 good-paying, skilled manufacturing jobs in Pennsylvania and Texas. In the second transaction, the Board approved $99 million...

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Adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in public administrations is growing, but governments face a range of challenges in scaling up AI applications, leading to many initiatives remaining in their pilot phase, according to a new OECD report. As AI becomes an integral part of digital government, transforming processes and services to improve productivity, responsiveness and accountability, the OECD’s Governing with Artificial Intelligence report is the first of its kind to examine how governments use and engage with AI, analysing 200 use cases and dozens of policy...

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In the context of the mid-term review of the EU’s cohesion policy, the Council adopted today amendments to existing regulations to better address current and emerging strategic challenges linked to the economic, social and territorial cohesion. These include, notably, defence and security, competitiveness and decarbonisation, affordable housing, measures related to water and challenges facing Eastern border regions. "The EU must be better prepared for tomorrow’s challenges. The legislation adopted today will enable member states to spend EU cohesion funds on...

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Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva today announced her intention to appoint Nigel Chalk as Director of the Fund’s Western Hemisphere Department (WHD). Mr Chalk will assume his new role effective October 27, 2025. A UK and Irish national, Mr. Chalk brings to the role nearly three decades of experience at the Fund. Deep institutional knowledge, strategic insight, and calm leadership have earned him widespread respect across the institution. “Nigel’s deep experience, sound judgment, and steady hand...

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By: Vitor Gaspar, Carlos Eduardo Goncalves, Marcos Poplawski-Ribeiro, IMF Decline in private lending offsets increase in public borrowing; notable differences persist across countries and income groups. Global debt has stabilized, though it remains at an elevated level, as a continued reduction in private-sector lending offset greater borrowing by governments. Total debt was little changed last year, just above 235 percent of global gross domestic product, according to the latest update of the IMF’s Global Debt Database. Private debt declined to under 143 percent of GDP, the...

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Keynote speech by Piero Cipollone, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the Resilience Conference hosted by De Nederlandsche Bank At a time of digital and geopolitical disruptions, enhancing our financial sector’s resilience is critical to protect the stability and prosperity of our economy. Money is ultimately a matter of trust. That trust rests on the stability of prices, the stability of the financial system and the smooth functioning of payments that keep our economies moving every day. These...

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Dear Professor Draghi, caro Mario, Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen, Today we mark one year since the Draghi report was released. But let me go back for a moment to two years ago, when I first called you, Mario, to propose that you embark on this new mission. I remember you were intrigued by the offer. But you set one condition. You said this new report had to make a real difference. You were not interested in writing another academic paper. You wanted...

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Paris, 15 September 2025 Speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, 'Conversations pour demain' on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Institut Montaigne in Paris, France It is a great honour to be invited to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Institut Montaigne with you. For a quarter of a century, this institution has stood out for its independence of thought. That independence has given its work both credibility and influence. As a central banker, independence has a special...

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