Test bilateral currency swap arrangement between ECB and the People’s Bank of China

26 November 2015

The ECB and the PBC have successfully completed tests of their existing bilateral currency swap arrangement. From a Eurosystem perspective, the arrangement serves as a backstop facility to address sudden and temporary disruptions in the renminbi market due to liquidity shortages in euro area banks. Liquidity providing arrangements contribute to global financial stability and the arrangement with the PBC is a recognition of the rapidly growing bilateral trade and investment between the euro area and China.
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FCA fined Barclays

26 November 2015

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today fined Barclays Bank (Barclays) £72,069,400 for failing to minimise the risk that it may be used to facilitate financial crime. The failings relate to a £1.88 billion pound transaction (Transaction) that Barclays arranged and executed in 2011 and 2012 for a number of ultra-high-net-worth clients. The clients involved were politically exposed persons (PEPs) and should therefore have been subject to enhanced levels of due diligence and monitoring by Barclays.

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The new €20, the third in the Europa series, enters into circulation today

25 November 2015

The new €20, the third in the Europa series, enters into circulation today. It has a refreshed look and more vibrant colours, and includes a new kind of security feature: a “portrait window” near the top of the hologram stripe which becomes transparent when seen against the light. The window reveals a portrait of Europa, a figure from Greek mythology, which is visible on both sides of the note. The same portrait is also visible in the watermark, alongside an emerald number which displays an effect of the light moving up and down when the note is tilted – exactly like in the €5 and €10 of the Europa series.
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One commom goal for The Hague Security Delta

11 November 2015

The Hague Security Delta (HSD) is the largest security cluster in Europe. In this Dutch cluster –with important regional hubs in The Hague, Twente, and Brabant– businesses, governments, and knowledge institutions work together on innovation and knowledge in the fields of cyber security, national and urban security, protection of critical infrastructure, and forensics. They share a common goal: more business activity, more jobs and a secure world.

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Stress test 2016 conducted by the European Banking Authority

05 November 2015

The European Central Bank (ECB) has today published the list of 39 euro area banks that will participate in the 2016 EU-wide stress test conducted by the European Banking Authority (EBA). The EBA will coordinate the exercise in cooperation with national authorities and the ECB. The overall exercise will examine a total of 53 banks across the EU. It will help the public and other stakeholders to compare and assess the resilience of the banks, notably their ability to absorb shocks and meet capital requirements under adverse macroeconomic conditions.

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