Comments by ECB vice president, Luis de Guindos
- Calls for structural reforms and fiscal policy to take over from monetary policy
- Says that there are signs of economic stabilisation
- Euro area slowdown has bottomed out as disorderly Brexit, US-China trade war risks have not materialised
I reckon the remark on additional easing is his own personal view and is one that is not unanimously shared across the governing council, given the current divide.
Lagarde may have played things by the book yesterday but it remains to be seen how comfortable she is with letting negative rates run deeper for longer in the big picture.
Also, talk of a bottom in the growth slowdown is still a bit premature. He may end up being right but if you have been calling it since 2018, eventually you will be.
