Stop attacking ECB, new board member tells fellow Germans
Incoming European Central Bank (ECB) board member Isabel Schnabel has told her fellow German economists to dial back their attacks on the Eurozone’s central bank, saying they threaten the euro.
“Dear fellow German economists, if you are wondering what you can do for Europe: Please help to dispel the harmful & wrong narratives about the @ecb’s monetary policy, floating around in political and media circles,” Isabel Schnabel said on Twitter.
Read more: ECB: Record-low rates causing ‘excessive risk-taking’ in some sectors
She added that “well-founded criticism and warnings concerning @ecb policy are very important and need to be addressed”. Yet she said wrongheaded criticisms “threaten the euro more than many other things”.
Schnabel is due to replace fellow German Sabine Lautenschlaeger, who quit the ECB board in September following the Bank’s decision to cut interest rates further and to relaunch its giant money-printing programme.
Although no motives were ascribed to Lautenschlaeger, the departure highlighted divisions at the ECB’s highest level.
Many board members, often from northern European countries, have criticised the ECB’s policy of negative interest rates and bond-buying, saying they damage savers and keep alive “zombie” companies.
Earlier this year, German newspaper Bild portrayed former ECB president Mario Draghi as “Count Draghila”, a vampire sucking the country’s savers dry through very low interest rates.
Schnabel is seen as less of a “hawk” – someone who desires tighter monetary policy – than Lautenschlaeger and many of their German contemporaries.
Read more: Mario Draghi defends his record at final ECB meeting
This is likely to ease the job of new ECB president Christine Lagarde, who is tasked with bringing the board together after some recent public rifts.
Schnabel is yet to be confirmed as Germany’s new representative on the ECB board, but it is effectively a done deal as she is the only candidate to fill the vacancy.
(Image credit: Getty)