ECB rate cuts totalling 100 points possible this year: Greek central banker

THE European Central Bank (ECB) could possibly cut rates by a total of 100 basis points this year, but there is still no consensus within the eurozone’s central bank on that, said ECB policymaker Yannis Stournaras in a newspaper interview released on Sunday (Mar 31).

“Personally, I believe that cutting rates four times this year, by 25 basis points each, is possible,” Stournaras told Greek newspaper Proto Thema. However, not everybody in the ECB shares that view yet, he said. “Some colleagues are more sceptical and they think that rate cuts should be more moderate.”

Stournaras said last week that it seemed there was a consensus within the ECB for a rate cut in June, and that the bank had no reason to wait for the US Federal Reserve to cut rates first. REUTERS