European Central Bank

Bank lending rates and the riskiness of euro area household loans

05/08/2025 European Central Bank Central banks

I assess the impact of the recent hike in bank lending rates on euro area retail borrowers using a novel microsimulation framework that updates household-level data of a recent representative survey with up-to-date macro-financial information. The key novelty is that existing mortgages are gradually repaid, and new ones are extended, a feature necessary for medium-term simulations in a period of sizable credit growth. Since lending rates have increased, debt servicing has become more demanding, and the simulated share of distressed loans has increased.

Beware of large shocks! A non-parametric structural inflation model

05/06/2025 European Central Bank Central banks

We propose a novel empirical structural inflation model that captures non-linear shock transmission using a Bayesian machine learning framework that combines VARs with non-linear structural factor models. Unlike traditional linear models, our approach allows for non-linear effects at all impulse response horizons. Identification is achieved via sign, zero, and magnitude restrictions within the factor model. Applying our method to euro area energy shocks, we find that inflation reacts disproportionately to large shocks, while small shocks trigger no significant response.

Who wants to work more? Revisiting the decline in average hours worked

05/02/2025 European Central Bank Central banks

Average hours worked (AHW) have been declining in recent years, falling particularly strongly during the pandemic before returning to trend. This box examines the key drivers behind the decline in AHW, with two factors playing a dominant role. First, the proportion of employees working zero hours during the reference week spiked during the pandemic – owing to the closure of businesses and higher sick leave rates – and recovered only slowly. Second, the proportion of employees working very long hours has continued to fall over the past decade.

The 2021-24 inflation surge through the lens of the ECB-BASE model

05/02/2025 European Central Bank Central banks

The start of Russia’s war on Ukraine in early 2022 led to major errors in inflation and GDP growth forecasts from December 2021 onwards. By the end of 2022 inflation projections were off by 8 percentage points and GDP projections by nearly 1 percentage point. Using the ECB-BASE model, this study finds that about 70% of the inflation error stemmed from unexpected energy and food price shocks. Energy prices were the main drivers in 2022, while food prices gained influence in 2023. Fiscal policies initially eased inflation but later this effect was reversed.

The implications of US-China trade tensions for the euro area – lessons from the tariffs imposed by the first Trump Administration

05/02/2025 European Central Bank Central banks

This box examines the effects of the tariffs imposed by the first Trump Administration in 2018. It shows that there was a significant decline in Chinese exports to the United States. Despite the potential for increased competitiveness, the euro area did not increase its market share in the United States. Chinese exports found alternative destinations, including South and South-East Asia and the euro area. The analysis highlights the potential channels through which US tariffs on Chinese goods could affect the euro area.

Challenges to the resilience of US corporate bond spreads

05/02/2025 European Central Bank Central banks

This box examines the drivers behind the prolonged resilience of US corporate bond spreads, prior to their recent abrupt widening, in order to better understand the risks of decompression. The previous compression was largely supported by a strong risk appetite and a compositional shift in bond issuance toward higher-quality firms. However, the need to refinance maturing debt in a high-interest rate environment – combined with a rapidly deteriorating risk sentiment – exposes US corporates to heightened vulnerability and increases their sensitivity to adverse shocks.

Introducing statistical in-house credit assessment systems (S-ICASs) as an additional source of credit assessments under the general collateral framework

05/02/2025 European Central Bank Central banks

The statistical in-house credit assessment systems (S-ICASs) of the national central banks of the euro area are quantitative systems which can assess the credit quality of a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises in an automated manner. These can help broaden the set of eligible credit claims accepted as collateral in monetary policy operations.

Medium-term fiscal-structural plans under the revised Stability and Growth Pact

04/30/2025 European Central Bank Central banks

This article analyses the medium-term fiscal-structural plans that euro area countries have submitted under the revised Stability and Growth Pact. It discusses the fiscal and economic implications of this framework over the short and medium term, also factoring in – on a preliminary basis and acknowledging the major uncertainty ahead – the recent proposal by the European Commission to activate the national escape clause in the Stability and Growth Pact in a coordinated manner.

Long-term inflation expectations of consumers: an overview

04/29/2025 European Central Bank Central banks

This box explores the newly available five-year-ahead inflation expectations collected in the ECB Consumer Expectations Survey (CES). While consumers’ beliefs about longer-term inflation expectations are characterised by substantial heterogeneity and dispersion, the median five-year-ahead expectations have been close to the ECB's 2% inflation target since September 2024. This relative stability contrasts with more variable one-year and three-year expectations, which have been more sensitive to actual changes in inflation.

Why monetary policy should crack down harder during high inflation

04/29/2025 European Central Bank Central banks

The recent surge in inflation has led to a significant increase in the frequency of price changes, making prices more flexible. Conventional models assume a constant price change frequency, but in state-dependent models the frequency varies with economic conditions. Price flexibility has an impact on the effectiveness of monetary policy. In high inflation periods, frequent price changes make monetary policy more effective in reducing inflation with less impact on economic activity. Therefore, monetary policy should be more aggressive during such periods to stabilise prices efficiently.

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