- Mario Draghi
The European Central Bank now expects the 17-nation economy to recover gradually in the second half of this year, however, risks are high and the outlook can be revised, Mario Draghi said. Moreover, the Eurozone leaders should move swiftly toward completing a full banking union in order to stabilize the region's financial sector, as it is a first step for a centralized banking regulator. Draghi also noticed that the ECB cannot help every country at any time. Even despite record low interest rates and unprecedentedly amounts of liquidity injected into banks, funds are not flowing freely to small and medium-sized enterprises.
"We expect a gradual recovery in the euro area economic activity for the second half of this year, but this scenario is subject to downside risks," Draghi said at a plenary debate at the parliament in Strasbourg.
"The stability of the euro against the dollar shows that people trust what the ECB has done so far to resolve the crisis," James Kwok, the London-based head of currencies at Amundi Asset Management, which oversees $947 billion, said in a phone interview. "People trust what Draghi is doing. As long as that's the case, then the euro will remain supported."
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