[Helmholtz Watson]

ECB left rates unchanged as expected in February. The bank left deposit facility interest rates at -.50% and held steady rates on the main refinancing
[See the full post at: ECB Leaves Rates Unchanged, Expects APP Purchases to End Shortly Before Starts Raising Key Rates]

[TradersCom]

ECB’s Lagarde opening statement:

Inflation to remain elevated for longer than expected
Inflation rise is due to energy
Economy hurt less by pandemic
Growth subdued in Q1
Shortages are restraining activity and remained a headwind
Bottlenecks may be starting to ease but may persist for some time
Inflation increased to 5.1% y/y in January and is likely to remain high in the near term
The direct impact of energy accounted for half of the rise in January
Wage growth is muted

[TradersCom]

European banks CDS soared last week, UniCredit up 7 to 82bps

Index of European subordinated bank CDS rose 10 to 15-mth high 138 bps (traded up to 144bps intraday Friday).
Index of European high yield bond CDS rose 29 to 15-month high 315 bps.

European banks stocks were higher this week, with the STOXX 600 Bank Index’s 2.4% advance boosting y-t-d gains to 9.8%.

[Author]

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