Activities of Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS related to 2014/2157(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
European Central Bank annual report for 2013 (A8-0011/2015 - Pablo Zalba Bidegain)
European Central Bank annual report for 2013 (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the European Central Bank Annual Report for 2013 PDF (165 KB) DOC (114 KB)
Amendments (36)
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. Whereas the success of the OMT program in lowering borrowing interest rates should not be used by Member States as an opportunity to avoid structural reforms to enhance growth potential and achieve fiscal sustainability in the medium term.
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas low energy prices, particularly oil, have been one of the main contributors on the decrease in inflation rates in the eurozone.
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the level of public and private investment in the euro area has been stagnating at levels significantly below those registered before the start of the crisis; whereas it has been common among big enterprises to use the environment of cheap money to realize self-serving buybacks instead of new investments.
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas the results of the comprehensive assessment of European banks should have a positive impact on current monetary policies and the bank's willingness to increase their lending activities, particularly to the real economy;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the size of the euro system’s balance-sheet has declined steadily over the course of 2013, reflecting receding financial fragmentation; however, this decreasing financial fragmentation has not had effect on loans to SMEs and households;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)
Recital K a (new)
Ka. whereas the effects of a possible Quantitative Easing in the eurozone, would probably be dampened by the excessive credit intermediation of the banking sector;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K b (new)
Recital K b (new)
Kb. whereas the European credit markets need to diversificate through the gradual increase of the share on credit intermediation through financial instrum ents. This diversification would render monetary policy more effective;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K c (new)
Recital K c (new)
Kc. whereas current evidence suggests that Quantitative Easing doesn't have any substantial effect on bank lending, and beyond a change in inflation expectations, its main effect is to raise the price of assets and more specifically stock markets;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas Article 282 TFEU states that the primary objective of the ECB is to maintain price stability; whereas Article 123 TFEU and Article 21 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the ECB prohibit the monetary financing of governments; recalls that this was a sine qua non condition for several Member States to go into the European Monetary Union.
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Notes that the high level of public and private indebtedness in some Member States are obstacles for the correct transmission of monetary policy;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Believes that the low risk premium paid by many eurozone Member States in the last months, it is not so linked to the action of their governments but the success of the OMT program and the existing close to zero inflation;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Stresses that low borrowing costs by Member States are running hand in hand with rising public debts, close or beyond 100% of GDP in many cases, and warns that a new crisis could start a reassessment of risk by financial markets;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Encourages the ECB to consider in its balance sheet expansion policy the buying of EIB project bonds, which fund some of the more productive investments in the eurozone, particularly from those projects chosen by the Commission as having European added value after a cost-benefit analysis, particularly TEN-T projects in energy and transport;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls the ECB to consider the possibility of easing access to its liquidity to non-monetary financial institutions such as regional public banks;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Believes that regarding the collateral framework, bonds issued by regional governments with legislative and tax collection powers should have the same haircut as central government bonds, as otherwise the current gap creates distortions between layers of government;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Believes the ECB should improve its collateral framework in order to reduce excessive pro-cyclicality of haircuts on eligible assets;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Welcomes the measures announced by the ECB in June 2014 aimed at enhancing the functioning of the monetary policy transmission mechanism; acknowledges that the TLTRO introduces, for the first time, a link between loans to the non- financial private sector granted by banks and the amount of refinancing the banks can claim; hopes that the satisfactory results in the AQR will enhance the use of the TLTRO by European banks.
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Notes that the ECB has announced that it will purchase asset-backed securities (ABS) and covered bonds in order to empower the credit-easing impact of the TLTROs; stresses that such interventions on ABS market must be conducted in a transparent manner that does not create excessive risks for the ECB’s balance sheetrelevant enough to have an effect on lending rates for SMEs, reduce fragmentation and to be conducted in a transparent manner;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Stresses its concern regarding the considerable fragmentation of lending conditions for SMEs across the eurozone countries, and by the existing gap between financing rates granted to SMEs and those granted to bigger companies; insists that these long-standing problems are not appropriately addressed by the recent measures announced by ECB to boost bank lending, and that the ECB should study the possibility of launching a specific programme to support SMEs access to credit; calls the ECB to investigate if this gap has any correlation with concentration in the banking sector;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Considers that the idea of buying corporate bonds should be rule out, as due to the use of buybacks by big enterprises would probably have little effect on stimulating investment and internal demand.
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Considers that the TARGET 2 system should be improved in the medium term, taking the model of the Federal Reserve as a template in order to reduce excessive risk taking and improve the financial safety of the euro system;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Recalls that the independence of the ECB in the conduct of its monetary policy, as enshrined in the Treaties, is crucial to the objective of safeguarding price stability and keeping inflation close by below 2%;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Calls the ECB to make a step backwards in its role inside the Troika in order to reinforce its independence from political decisions;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Considers that the complexity of monetary policy instruments makes it difficult for the citizen of the euro area to understand the ECB’s actions; asks the ECB to strengthen its communication efforts in order to make its actions more transparentWelcomes the step forward brought by the ECB in order to publish the minutes of its meeting and looks forward to the beginning of this practice in January 2015. Is satisfied that this demand from the last European Parliament reports has been acknowledged by the ECB governing council;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Believes that recent information that has come to the public light underline the importance of a prudent use of ELA in the future. It cannot be accepted again that a Member State's banking sector indebts itself for a relevant %of its GDP in this way;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19b. Encourages the ECB to keep improving its gender policy in its nominations in order to eliminate the current gap. Welcomes the nomination of Ms Daniel Nouy to head the supervision of the European Banking sector, particularly for her high merits and strong resumé;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Welcomes the fact that the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), the first pillar of the Banking Union, became fully operational on 4 November 2014; notes that this major step in European financial integration was achieved thanks to the successful completion of the preparatory work, including the Asset Quality Review (AQR); thanks the ECB for using its credibility to support the European banking system, particularly because some national supervisors where the banking sector was bailed-out were already widely discredit;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Hopes that the results of the AQR have adequately taken into account all risks, in order to avoid the japanification of European banking and the ever- greening of loans impossible to repay;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)
Paragraph 20 b (new)
20b. Believes that the ECB should go forward in the codification of common accounting standards for all European banks, avoiding distortions;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 c (new)
Paragraph 20 c (new)
20c. Encourages the ECB to use its capacity to give banking licenses to those who demand in order to start new banking projects and to open up competition in the Member States with the most concentrated banking sectors;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 d (new)
Paragraph 20 d (new)
20d. Considers that the ECB has great responsibility in ensuring that future bank recapitalizations will be done through the bail-in scheme, when access to markets is difficult or impossible;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 e (new)
Paragraph 20 e (new)
20e. Calls the ECB to ensure in its daily practices the complete ring-fencing between monetary policy and its role as banking supervisor;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Supports the idea that in order to make bail-in more credible and effective, the European legislation should advance to separate the more risky investment activities from traditional banking;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)
Paragraph 21 b (new)
21b. Believes that the current structure of the Banking Union should be complemented in the future by a common European Deposit Guarantee that avoids capital flight to safety in the event of a future banking crisis;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Points out that activity on government securities continues to be a major source of profit for banks of the euro area, even though credit to the non-financial private sector remains sluggish; calls the ECB to warn on those banks that keep increasing their holdings of government bonds while decreasing credit to the private sector.
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Believes that the task of the ECB would be greatly complemented by the existence of an eurozone fiscal capacity, and some kind of eurobills able to help to absorb asymmetric shocks;