The ECB Podcast

What does financial stability have to do with cycling and zombies? How has the third wave of the pandemic affected the financial system? What risks lie ahead? Our host Katie Ranger discusses these questions with our financial stability experts Tamarah Shakir and John Fell on The ECB Podcast. The views expressed are those of the speakers and not necessarily those of the European Central Bank. Published on 16 June 2021 and recorded on 1 June 2021. In this episode: 00:58 – How the financial system has fared during the third wave How the financial stability bicycle is doing, how stabilisers have helped to preserve financial stability, what the risks are that lie ahead during the recovery. 06:30 – Economic divergence across sectors and countries Why countries and sectors were affected differently during the pandemic, why economic divergence is an issue for financial stability and why fiscal policy is best suited to address divergences between sectors and countries. 11:27 – Risk appetite in the markets and bitcoin How markets and investors have behaved during the third wave of the pandemic, why investors’ risk appetite has increased over the last six months and why this is a concern for financial stability. 17:38 – Zombie firms and financial stability What zombie firms are, why they could benefit from policy support measures during the pandemic, what zombie firms mean for financial stability. 21:18 – Must-watches and must-reads on financial stability What our experts suggest as entertaining must-watches and must-reads to get started on financial stability. Further reading: Financial Stability Review https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/financial-stability/fsr/html/index.en.html European Central Bank www.ecb.europa.eu You can also listen to The ECB Podcast on SoundCloud, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, YouTube, Amazon Music and many more: https://pod.link/ecbpodcast

How can we as a central bank contribute to tackling climate change? What's our role as a central bank and supervisor? Our new host Katie Ranger discusses these questions with Executive Board members Isabel Schnabel and Frank Elderson in this episode of The ECB Podcast. The views expressed are those of the speakers and not necessarily those of the European Central Bank. Published on 12 May 2021 and recorded on 7 May 2021. In this episode: 01:14 – Where we stand in the fight against climate change What motivates our guests Isabel Schnabel and Frank Elderson to be vocal in the fight against climate change, what has been achieved so far and where we need to go from here. 13:10 – Legal aspects and the price stability mandate What our price stability mandate tells us about our commitment to tackling climate change, and what our obligations and limitations are. 20:41 – What monetary policy can do How climate change affects our mandate to maintain price stability, how our asset purchases could become greener, and why this is easier said than done and what market neutrality has to do with it. 35:16 – What banking supervisors can do Why banks play a key role in the transition towards a green economy, how supervisors support banks to manage climate risks, and why good data and thorough stress tests play a key role. Further reading: Christine Lagarde: Towards a green capital markets union for Europe https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/key/date/2021/html/ecb.sp210506~4ec98730ee.en.html Frank Elderson: All the way to zero: guiding banks towards a carbon-neutral Europe https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/key/date/2021/html/ecb.sp210429~3f8606edca.en.html Frank Elderson: Greening monetary policy https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/date/2021/html/ecb.blog210213~7e26af8606.en.html Isabel Schnabel: From green neglect to green dominance? https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/key/date/2021/html/ecb.sp210303_1~f3df48854e.en.html Isabel Schnabel: Never waste a crisis: COVID-19, climate change and monetary policy https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/key/date/2020/html/ecb.sp200717~1556b0f988.en.html Isabel Schnabel: When markets fail – the need for collective action in tackling climate change https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/key/date/2020/html/ecb.sp200928_1~268b0b672f.en.html Luis de Guindos: Shining a light on climate risks: the ECB’s economy-wide climate stress test https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/date/2021/html/ecb.blog210318~3bbc68ffc5.en.html Climate change and the ECB https://www.ecb.europa.eu/ecb/climate/html/index.en.html European Central Bank www.ecb.europa.eu European Banking Supervision www.www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu You can also listen to The ECB Podcast on SoundCloud, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, YouTube, Amazon Music and many more: https://pod.link/ecbpodcast

How can we empower women to aim high? ECB President Christine Lagarde and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, talk about this and share their personal experiences as female leaders in the latest episode of The ECB Podcast hosted by Michael Steen. The views expressed are those of the speakers and not necessarily those of the European Central Bank. Published on 8 March 2021 and recorded on 4 March 2021. In this episode: 01:44 – Female leadership Why female leadership is important, why women are central to good and effective leadership during crisis times, why more gender parity is beneficial to all of us and how we can achieve it. 10:14 – Path to leadership What the driving forces were on Christine Lagarde’s and Ursula von der Leyen’s paths to leadership, how they dealt with obstacles, what gave them confidence and to carry on, and what role childcare can have for women on their career paths. 26:15 – Fighting stereotypes and gender biases How Christine Lagarde and Ursula von der Leyen were confronted with biases and stereotypes, how they dealt with those situations, and they came out stronger from difficult situations. 34:55 – Impact of the coronavirus crisis on gender equality How the coronavirus crisis has disproportionally affected women, what the positive and negative effects of working remotely could be over the long-term, and what we can do for a better work-life balance for everyone. 41:55 – Goals for gender equality in the future What their goals are for gender equality in the future, what advice they would give themselves to better deal with obstacles and hurdles and what they #ChooseToChallenge to encourage better gender equality. Further reading: Christine Lagarde: Choose to challenge women’s roles at home, at work and in our society https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/date/2021/html/ecb.blog210308~e7a735f961.en.html Harvard Business Review: Women are better leaders during a crisis https://hbr.org/2020/12/research-women-are-better-leaders-during-a-crisis Women in economics scholarship https://www.ecb.europa.eu/careers/what-we-offer/wecs/html/index.en.html Women@ECB https://www.ecb.europa.eu/careers/why-we-value-diversity/women/html/index.en.html European Central Bank www.ecb.europa.eu You can also listen to The ECB Podcast on SoundCloud, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, YouTube, Amazon Music and many more: https://pod.link/ecbpodcast

What are banking supervisors worried about for 2021? Why are “marriages” between banks a good idea? And how can supervisors help banks to be part of the solution during this crisis? Our host Michael Steen finds answers to these questions in The ECB Podcast. The views expressed are those of the speakers and not necessarily those of the European Central Bank. Published on 12 February 2021 and recorded on 9 February 2021. In this episode: 01:19 – How the coronavirus crisis has affected banks What the uncertainty during the pandemic has meant for banks, the main risks they are facing, and how banks can be part of the solution this time. 04:50 – How supervisors helped to ensure that bank lending continued during the crisis What steps governments and regulators took to ensure that credit continued to flow, how those measures helped banks to fulfil their role as lenders and what the risks of those policies are. 06:32 – The supervisory priorities for 2021 A closer look at this year’s priorities: credit risk, capital strength, business model sustainability and governance are the areas that supervisors will look at in 2021. Further reading: Supervisory priorities 2021 https://www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu/banking/priorities/priorities/html/index.en.html Introductory statement to the ECB banking supervision press conference https://www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu/press/speeches/date/2021/html/ssm.sp210128~78f262dd04.en.html Overview: The ECB’s response to the coronavirus pandemic https://www.ecb.europa.eu/home/search/coronavirus/html/index.en.html https://www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu/home/search/coronavirus/html/index.en.html European Central Bank website www.ecb.europa.eu Banking supervision website www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu You can also listen to The ECB Podcast on SoundCloud, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, YouTube, Amazon Music and many more: https://pod.link/ecbpodcast

How will the coronavirus vaccine affect economic recovery in 2021? Where do we stand after nine months of fighting the crisis? And what is the role of the ECB’s monetary policy? Our host Michael Steen discusses these questions with our Chief Economist Philip R. Lane. The views expressed are those of the speakers and not necessarily those of the European Central Bank. Published on 18 December 2020 and recorded on 11 December 2020. In this episode: 00:23 – What is the assessment of the economic response to the first wave? What the experience was during the first wave, how policy makers have adapted to the new challenges, how monetary and fiscal policy worked hand in hand to mitigate the economic shortfall. 05:53 – How is the ECB building a bridge towards economic recovery? Why the ECB recalibrated its monetary policy in December, what the economic forecasts say about the recovery, how the PEPP and TLTROs work to support economic recovery. 14:08 – What are the challenges that lie ahead in 2021? What the basis for our economic projections is, what difficulties and hopes there are on the path to economic recovery. 19:58 – What else is on the ECB’s agenda? What the strategy review is about, what exactly we’re looking at and how we’re listening to Europeans and gathering their input. Further reading: Overview: The ECB’s response to the coronavirus pandemic https://www.ecb.europa.eu/home/search/coronavirus/html/index.en.html https://www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu/home/search/coronavirus/html/index.en.html Press release: ECB prolongs support via targeted lending operations for banks that lend to the real economy https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2020/html/ecb.pr201210_1~e8e95af01c.en.html Speech by Philip R. Lane: Monetary policy in a pandemic: ensuring favourable financing conditions https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/key/date/2020/html/ecb.sp201126~c5c1036327.en.html Macroeconomic projections https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/projections/html/index.en.html European Central Bank www.ecb.europa.eu You can also listen to The ECB Podcast on SoundCloud, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, YouTube, Amazon Music and many more: pod.link/ecbpodcast15:

What do cycling and financial stability have in common? How has the pandemic affected the financial system and the economy? What risks lie ahead? Our host Michael Steen discusses these questions and more with economists John Fell and Tamarah Shakir, who analyse financial stability at the ECB. The views expressed are those of the speakers and not necessarily those of the European Central Bank. Published on 25 November 2020 and recorded on 13 November 2020. In this episode: 00:46 – What is financial stability? What financial stability is, what it has in common with cycling, financial instability during the global financial crisis. 05:59 – How has the pandemic affected financial stability? How the coronavirus crisis affected financial stability in March, how the reaction by EU and national policymakers prevented a financial crisis and why financial stability could largely be preserved. 12:05 – How has the coronavirus crisis affected businesses? What the measures taken to protect businesses and households are, how the measures have worked and helped to preserve financial stability. 17:26 – What are the challenges that lie ahead? What the risks for businesses, households and the financial system are, what we need to look out for in the future and what is being done to prevent the risks from materialising. Further reading: Financial Stability Review, November 2020 https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/financial-stability/fsr/html/ecb.fsr202011~b7be9ae1f1.en.html Special Feature by John Fell and Garry Schinasi in the Financial Stability Review, June 2005, pp. 117-125 https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/fsr/financialstabilityreview200506en.pdf European Central Bank www.ecb.europa.eu You can also listen to The ECB Podcast on SoundCloud, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, YouTube, Amazon Music and many more: https://pod.link/ecbpodcast

What is a digital euro? What would its benefits be and how would it affect the way we make payments? When could it be ready? Our host Michael Steen discusses these questions and more with Ulrich Bindseil, who is responsible for market infrastructures and payments at the ECB. The views expressed are those of the speakers and not necessarily those of the European Central Bank. Published on 6 November 2020 and recorded on 26 October 2020. In this episode: 01:10 – What is money? What money is, what the differences between central bank money and commercial bank money are, and where a digital euro comes in. 05:23 – The development of digital payments and the benefits of a digital euro. How digital payments have developed over the last few years, what different kinds of digital payments already exist and how they differ, and what the benefits of a digital euro might be. 12:12 – The impact on digital payments and design options How I will be able to pay in the future? What could a digital euro technically look like. 18:17 – The way forward and next steps When a digital euro will be ready and how and why to have your say on its design. Further reading: Report on a digital euro https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/other/Report_on_a_digital_euro~4d7268b458.en.pdf Public consultation on a digital euro https://epsilon.escb.eu/limesurvey3/434111?lang=en Tiered CBDC and the financial system https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/scpwps/ecb.wp2351~c8c18bbd60.en.pdf European Central Bank www.ecb.europa.eu/home/html/index.en.html

How is AI changing what we do? What does a job in the platform economy look like? How will the coronavirus pandemic affect the way we work? Our host Michael Steen discusses these questions and more with economists Robert Anderton and Lara Vivian. The views expressed are those of the speakers and not necessarily those of the European Central Bank. Published on 29 September 2020 and recorded on 13 August 2020. In this episode: 01:04 – Digitalisation and job polarisation How digitalisation is changing our roles and how job polarisation is affecting different euro area countries. 04:47 – Zooming in on artificial intelligence What the impact of AI is on jobs, what it means for the future of the job market and how AI is affecting different sectors. 06:57 – The platform economy What the characteristics of the platform economy are, how it has increased in size over the past years and possible policy implications. 14:25 – Labour markets after coronavirus- the new normal? How the pandemic could result in a permanent acceleration and take-up of digitalisation. Why this can pose challenges and provide new opportunities. Further reading: Virtually everywhere? Digitalisation and the euro area and EU economies https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/scpops/ecb.op244~2acc4f0b4e.en.pdf Digitalisation and its impact on the economy: insights from a survey of large companies https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/economic-bulletin/focus/2018/html/ecb.ebbox201807_04.en.html Study to monitor the economic development of the collaborative economy at sector level in the 28 EU Member States https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/0cc9aab6-7501-11e8-9483-01aa75ed71a1 New evidence on platform workers in Europe https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/eur-scientific-and-technical-research-reports/new-evidence-platform-workers-europe Hours of work polarisation? https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/scpwps/ecb.wp2324~3a8fca82b4.en.pdf European Central Bank https://www.ecb.europa.eu/home/html/index.en.html

How does the increased use of digital technologies change the way we work? Is the fear of automation taking away our jobs justified? Or do our tasks and skills evolve to meet the new conditions? Our host Michael Steen discusses these questions and more with economists Valerie Jarvis and Robert Anderton in this episode. The views expressed are those of the speakers and not necessarily those of the European Central Bank. Published on 2 September 2020 and recorded on 13 August 2020. In this episode: 01:11 – Digitalisation: what it is and its presence across the euro area How to measure digitalisation, how it affects our economies and what explains the differences in digitalisation levels across euro area countries. 05:24 – Digitalisation and labour markets What is the impact of digital technologies on labour markets, how robots are affecting the way we work and the important role of institutions and governance in reaping the benefits of digitalisation. 09:27 – Digitalisation and employment growth Why machines are not replacing humans and how the digital revolution can bring about large improvements in productivity and living standards. 12:40 – Zooming in on digital jobs How the proportions of digitally dependent employment differ across Europe, why the role of each country’s characteristics is important and why countries with higher digital employment growth are also those with lower unemployment. Further reading: Virtually everywhere? Digitalisation and the euro area and EU economies https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/scpops/ecb.op244~2acc4f0b4e.en.pdf Digitalisation and its impact on the economy: insights from a survey of large companies https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/economic-bulletin/focus/2018/html/ecb.ebbox201807_04.en.html European Central Bank https://www.ecb.europa.eu/home/html/index.en.html

What challenges does the coronavirus pandemic pose for banks? And what role can they play in helping the real economy deal with the crisis? Our host Michael Steen discusses these questions and more with ECB Supervisory Board Chair Andrea Enria in this episode. The views expressed are those of the speakers and not necessarily those of the European Central Bank. Published on 10 June 2020 and recorded on 29 May 2020. In this episode: (02:38) Coronavirus and the banks How the pandemic is posing challenges for banks, their response to the crisis and what banks can do to support the economy by lending to people and businesses. (07:42) The ECB’s measures to boost lending How the ECB has supported bank lending in the euro area. (11:25) The advantages of supervision at European level How European supervision enabled banks to enter this crisis in a much stronger position than in 2008, and how it has allowed for a unified and fast response to increase the safety of banks. (14:57) The coronavirus and digitalisation in the banking sector The opportunities for banks that come with digitalisation and how to mitigate the new risks increased digitalisation introduces. Further reading: The ECB’s response to the coronavirus pandemic https://www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu/home/search/coronavirus/html/index.en.html https://www.ecb.europa.eu/home/search/coronavirus/html/index.en.html Supervision.Explained.: Why do banks need to hold capital? https://www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu/about/ssmexplained/html/hold_capital.en.html Press release: ECB Banking Supervision provides temporary relief from capital requirements for market risk https://www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2020/html/ssm.pr200416~ecf270bca8.en.html Press release: ECB asks banks not to pay dividends until at least October 2020 https://www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2020/html/ssm.pr200327~d4d8f81a53.en.html Banking supervision website http://www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu/