Volker Wieland recommends ECB to normalize interest rate policy ("Börsen-Zeitung")

As the European Central Bank (ECB) has announced to stop sovereign bond purchases at the end of the year, Volker Wieland has asked the central bankers to tighten monetary policy faster. In his view, there is no reason to continue the crisis policy with negative interest rates and massive purchases of sovereign bonds, he said in an interview with the financial daily newspaper "Börsen-Zeitung".

Bond purchases led to lower yields of government and other bonds whereas asset prices including stocks increased, Wieland said. In view of the inflation development it was "only consistent to end bond purchases".

The ECB should make use of the inflation trend and economic development to raise interest rates and reduce the central bank balance sheet. "The earlier the ECB starts doing that the easier it will be to do this over a longer period of time". In Wieland's opinion, it would be a mistake to postpone the normalization, taking into account the rising yields of Italian government bonds.

 

Börsen-Zeitung: "Es wäre ein Fehler, die Wende aufzuschieben" (Paid Content)