(Finance) – “To Italian and European citizens I would say that it is It is important to be cautious and prudent. We have reduced interest rates and the trajectory of our monetary policy is very clear, but the level of uncertainty is enormous and we cannot make any mistakes. That is why a phased approach will be key in implementing monetary policy.” He said this Luis de Guindosvice-president of the European Central Bank (ECB), in an interview with ANSA.
“But I want to reassure you that things are moving in the right direction – he added – Inflation has fallen significantly. Most people look more at the price level than at the inflation rate. But ultimately price levels are the consequence of past inflation. We can’t claim victory yet, but so far we have made good progress. And despite the economic slowdown, we have so far managed to reduce inflation without producing a recession in the euro area. If you look at the job market, the situation remains positive. I therefore hope that in the medium term it will be more evident that the situation is evolving in the right direction.”
Regarding the fact that the Italian government aims to obtain a contribution of around 3.5 billion euros from the banking sector by putting its hands into deferred tax assets (DTA), de Guindos states: “We are of the opinion that the taxation must not jeopardize solvency of banks or the transmission of monetary policy in the sense of hindering credit to the real economy. In this specific case, we have not yet seen the final version of the measure, so it is difficult to form an opinion. But I hope that solvency is one of the elements that will be taken into account. This would be positive from our point of view.”
Regarding the operation Unicredit on Commerzbanksaid: “If we want a single banking market, we need truly pan-European banks. For this reason I believe the cross-border consolidation of the banking sector is important. I won’t go into the merits of individual operations, but in my opinion a European approach should prevail over national ones. This is how integration should proceed.”