The ECB supervision chief announced on Saturday that starting in September; the ECB will want weekly liquidity data from banks in order to conduct more frequent assessments of their capacity to fend off possible shocks as interest rates rise.
Andrea Enria claimed that while European banks were stronger than they had been in an interview with Milano Finanza, the financial markets were still in a “delicate phase” because of the conflict in Ukraine, increasing inflation, and rapidly rising interest rates.
All of these elements could raise funding and liquidity risks, according to Enria, who also noted that the ECB would pay close attention to this in the ongoing stress tests and other supervisory procedures.
In order to have more recent data that will allow us to better monitor trends in liquidity, we have decided to send banks information requests on a weekly basis beginning in September, according to Enria.
The ECB currently requires banks to report liquidity data on a monthly basis.
The findings of the bank stress tests will be made public in the coming days, and according to Enria, they will demonstrate that European bankers are better prepared to handle a potential financial crisis thanks to increased capital levels and more stable and reliable assets.
Enria responded that there was room for more consolidation, just as there was in other European member states when asked if Italy needed a third major banking company to join UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo.
