Volker Wieland warns against danger of political pressure on the ECB (Financial Times)

For 2022, Deutsche Bundesbank recorded its first loss for decades, also the European Central Bank (ECB) announced last week it made no profits in 2022. According to Volker Wieland, the large ECB balance sheet carries the danger of political pressure on the ECB, as he said in an interview with "Financial Times".

Economists say the losses could increase pressure on central banks to shrink their balance sheets, the FT writes. According to Wieland, "it is better to let the balance sheet decline rather quickly along with rising interest rates". In his view, the ECB's plan to reduce its almost €5tn bond portfolio by €15bn a month is moving "at a glacial speed". By keeping such a large balance sheet the ECB "opens itself up to considerable pressure from the political side", Wieland said in the  interview with the FT

Financial Times: "Bundesbank warns losses from bond purchases will wipe out buffers" (€)