German criticism of ECB swells – “Are not loud enough” – Reuters Germany

Berlin criticism of the ECB in Germany louder.

Several politicians from the CDU / CSU called to open on weekends to looking increasingly to the independent monetary authorities under pressure. According to their fears threaten German citizens shrinking retirement incomes and exploding real estate prices through the policy of cheap money. Bank Experts According to a press release on the assumption that the Germans lost on savings income in the period from 2010 to 2016 almost 200 billion euros.

“The ECB runs a highly risky course”, Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) told the newspaper “Welt am Sonntag”. “The elimination of interest produces a gaping hole in the pension of citizens.” Union Group Vice Ralph Brinkhaus (CDU) demanded to put the European Central Bank (ECB) under pressure to justify. “Otherwise, nothing will change,” he told the news magazine “Der Spiegel”. “We are not loud enough,” warned also of the CDU politician Michael Fuchs, who is also deputy chairman of the CDU parliamentary group in the Bundestag. The coalition must now say clearly that it considers that the interest rate policy of ECB chief Mario Draghi is wrong.

After calculation of DZ Bank, the negative effects are the low interest rates for German savers significantly stronger than the positive, such as “Welt am Sonntag” reported. So they escaped 2010-2016 savings interest rates on savings accounts, securities and insurance in the amount of 343 billion euros. On the downside, interest savings – about building a house -. Of only EUR 144 billion compared to

The ECB had early March the interest rate reduced to zero percent, aggravated the penalty rate for banks and increased its monthly bond purchases. so you fight the persistent economic weakness and the Mini-inflation in the euro area. Especially euro crisis countries are supported thereby.

“HARD TO SWALLOW”

Italy’s central bank governor Ignazio Visco warned of economic harmful deflationary spiral in his country. This can occur when falling prices paralyze consumption and investment. Because companies and consumers to hold back in anticipation of even more favorable rates, the economy sags then off and on. “Interest rates may still long time remain at very low levels,” said the ECB’s Visco of the newspaper “Il Sole 24 Ore”.

Last already the finance politicians of Federal and state groups of the CDU and CSU had expressed sharp criticism of the ECB in the same decision. The move is unusual. Because of the independence of central banks such open attacks usually be avoided. Federal Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble recently expressed concern that “increasingly nourish the effects of monetary policy in Germany Euro-skeptic efforts”.

According to the “Mirror” is possibly considered a legal procedure in Schäuble Ministry. Should the ECB distribute direct cash gifts to the citizens, the question would be for the federal government, whether it can examine the limits of the central bank mandate in court, the magazine reported. However, ECB chief economist Peter Praet had recently stressed that will not even discuss such a “helicopter money”. At a conference in Frankfurt he complained also about the criticism from Germany: “As this institution is under fire, especially in this country, is sometimes difficult to swallow.”