Top Stories
Ex-ECB’s Knot: Structural Weaknesses Still Hold Back Euro’s Global Reserve Ambitions
– Former European Central Bank Governing Council member Klaas Knot said on Friday that while the euro benefits from strong...
ECB’s Lagarde: War Has Made Outlook “Significantly More Uncertain”
– European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Friday said the war in the Middle East had made the outlook “significantly...
ECB’s Müller: No “Obvious Case” Yet to Raise Rates
– European Central Bank Governing Council member Madis Müller on Friday said the ECB must remain alert to inflation risks...
Exclusives
Transcript: Interview with ECB Governing Council member Demarco on 16 April 2026
By Marta Vilar and David Barwick – WASHINGTON (Econostream) - Following is the full transcript of the interview conducted by Econostream on 16 April with Alexander Demarco, Governor of the Central Bank of Malta and member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank:
17 April 2026
Exclusive: ECB’s Demarco: “June Is the More Natural Horizon for Judgment”
By David Barwick and Marta Vilar – WASHINGTON (Econostream) – June, rather than the April 30 policy meeting, would be the more appropriate point for the European Central Bank to judge whether the war-driven energy shock is feeding through into broader inflation, according to ECB Governing Council member Alexander Demarco.
17 April 2026Latest News
Central Bank News
April 17
Ex-ECB’s Knot: Structural Weaknesses Still Hold Back Euro’s Global Reserve Ambitions
By Marta Vilar – WASHINGTON (Econostream) – Former European Central Bank Governing Council member Klaas Knot said on Friday that while the euro benefits from strong credibility and respect for international rules, structural weaknesses still limit its role as a top global reserve currency.
17 April 2026
ECB’s Lagarde: War Has Made Outlook “Significantly More Uncertain”
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Friday said the war in the Middle East had made the outlook “significantly more uncertain” and reiterated that the ECB would stay data-dependent and refrain from pre-committing to any rate path.
17 April 2026
ECB’s Müller: No “Obvious Case” Yet to Raise Rates
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Madis Müller on Friday said the ECB must remain alert to inflation risks from the war in Iran but does not yet have a clear basis for raising interest rates.
17 April 2026
Transcript: Interview with ECB Governing Council member Demarco on 16 April 2026
By Marta Vilar and David Barwick – WASHINGTON (Econostream) - Following is the full transcript of the interview conducted by Econostream on 16 April with Alexander Demarco, Governor of the Central Bank of Malta and member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank:
17 April 2026Debt Issuance News
March 25
Transcript: Interview with KfW Head of Capital Markets Petra Wehlert on 20 March 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – Following is the full transcript of the interview conducted by Econostream on 20 March 2026 with Petra Wehlert, Head of Capital Markets of KfW.
25 March 2026
Exclusive: KfW Head of Capital Markets: Euro Green Bond Issuance “Likely to Come Early” in Q2
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – German investment and development bank KfW is likely to issue another euro green bond in Q2 2026, according to KfW’s Head of Capital Markets, Petra Wehlert.
25 March 2026March 18
Transcript: Interview with Swiss Federal Finance Administration’s Adrián Martínez on 13 March 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – Following is the full transcript of the interview conducted by Econostream on 13 March 2026 with Adrián Martínez, Vice Director of the Swiss Federal Finance Administration.
18 March 2026
Exclusive: Swiss Federal Finance Administration: Next Gap for New Bond Around 2041 Maturity
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – A new Swiss confederation bond is expected later in 2026 and could be issued around the 2041 maturity, which represents the next gap in Switzerland’s bond profile, according to Adrián Martínez, Vice Director of the Swiss Federal Finance Administration (FFA).
18 March 2026ECB Tone Meter
Entire Governing Council
27 MembersVery Dovish
Very Hawkish
Executive Board
6 MembersVery Dovish
Very Hawkish
Evolution
Governing Council vs. Executive Board
As of 17 April 2026
ECB Tone Meter Weekly Update: Hawkish Tilt Strengthens Despite Middle East Ceasefire
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – Econostream’s ECB Tone Meter continued to move slightly higher this week for both the Governing Council and the Executive Board, even in the wake of the Middle East ceasefire.
10 April 2026Meeting Bias
ECB Governing Council Meeting
Insights
ECB Insight: An April Hold Does Not Necessarily Bring a June Hike
By David Barwick – WASHINGTON (Econostream) – With April increasingly looking like a meeting the European Central Bank’s Governing Council is keeping alive out of convention rather than conviction, June now risks being treated as the move that inevitably follows. That may be too simplistic.
16 April 2026
ECB Insight: Lagarde’s No Tightening Bias: Dovish or Dumbish?
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – We argued on March 27 that European Central Bank Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel had given the Governing Council “room to wait.” On April 1 we said April 30 still looked live, but that it sounded “less and less like the ECB is trying to lead markets there,” a point we sharpened further on April 7 and April 8 . President Christine Lagarde’s Bloomberg TV interview on Tuesday strongly reinforces that line.
14 April 2026
ECB Insight: Dolenc Adds to Evidence of Little Appetite for Hiking
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Our Insights on April 7 , April 1 and March 27 argued that recent European Central Bank Governing Council communication had increasingly come to sound like that of a body dutifully keeping April 30 live while sounding reluctant to move then. Bank of Slovenia Governor Primož Dolenc’s podcast comments on Wednesday reinforce that impression — despite almost certainly having been recorded before the overnight ceasefire between the United States and Iran.
8 April 2026
ECB Insight: Villeroy Can Finally Afford to Be Honest About Rate Hikes
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – It’s easy to picture some of those listening to European Central Bank Governing Council member François Villeroy de Galhau’s speech last Thursday doing a double-take on hearing him say that the next change in ECB interest rates was probably destined to be a hike.
7 April 2026