ECB’s coronavirus prescription overlooks social and environmental ills

The document criticizes the European Central Bank (ECB) for implementing coronavirus relief measures that primarily benefit large, polluting companies and banks rather than small businesses and households. It highlights that quantitative easing and loan facilities lack criteria to target the most vulnerable and fail to account for carbon impacts or climate risks in collateral. Additionally, the author argues that the relaxation of prudential rules and the postponement of European stress tests weaken financial risk prevention and increase the systemic risk posed by carbon assets.

• The ECB's quantitative easing measures, including an increase in asset purchases of €870 billion to reach €1.01 trillion for 2020, primarily benefit large and polluting companies rather than small businesses and households. Polluting companies could receive between €40 billion and €132 billion in additional financing through this channel.
• The ECB's loan facilities, such as the long-term refinancing operations (LTROs) and the upcoming TLTRO III, lack mechanisms to ensure that funds reach those most affected by the crisis. Furthermore, the assets used as collateral for these loans do not account for climate risks or carbon impact, allowing banks to use polluting assets to secure financing.
• The relaxation of prudential rules on bank capital and liquidity, along with the postponement of European stress tests, increases systemic financial risk. The document asserts that reducing capital requirements exacerbates the lack of coverage for risks associated with carbon assets, which should instead require additional provisions.

APA

admin (2020). ECB’s coronavirus prescription overlooks social and environmental ills. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2020/03/30/ecbs-coronavirus-prescription-overlooks-social-and-environmental-ills/

Chicago

admin. ECB’s coronavirus prescription overlooks social and environmental ills. Reclaim Finance, 2020. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2020/03/30/ecbs-coronavirus-prescription-overlooks-social-and-environmental-ills/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=admin |title=ECB’s coronavirus prescription overlooks social and environmental ills |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=30 March 2020 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2020/03/30/ecbs-coronavirus-prescription-overlooks-social-and-environmental-ills/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{admin2020ecbs, author = {admin}, title = {{ECB’s coronavirus prescription overlooks social and environmental ills}}, publisher = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2020}, month = mar, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2020/03/30/ecbs-coronavirus-prescription-overlooks-social-and-environmental-ills/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }