The Financial and Macroeconomic Effects of OMT Announcements

26 Pages Posted: 25 Sep 2014

See all articles by Carlo Altavilla

Carlo Altavilla

European Central Bank (ECB)

Domenico Giannone

International Monetary Fund (IMF); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Michele Lenza

European Central Bank (ECB)

Date Written: June 2014

Abstract

This study evaluates the macroeconomic effects of Outright Monetary Transaction (OMT) announcements by the European Central Bank (ECB). Using high-frequency data, we find that OMT announcements decreased the Italian and Spanish 2-year government bond yields by about 2 percentage points, while leaving unchanged the bond yields of the same maturity in Germany and France. These results are used to calibrate a scenario in a multi-country model describing the macrofinancial linkages in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. The scenario analysis suggests that the reduction in bond yields due to OMT announcements is associated with a significant increase in real activity, credit, and prices in Italy and Spain with relatively muted spillovers in France and Germany.

Keywords: event study, multi-country vector autoregressive model, news, Outright Monetary Transactions

JEL Classification: C54, E47, E58

Suggested Citation

Altavilla, Carlo and Giannone, Domenico and Lenza, Michele, The Financial and Macroeconomic Effects of OMT Announcements (June 2014). CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP10025, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2501497

Carlo Altavilla (Contact Author)

European Central Bank (ECB) ( email )

Sonnemannstrasse 22
Frankfurt am Main, 60314
Germany

Domenico Giannone

International Monetary Fund (IMF) ( email )

700 19th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20431
United States

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

Michele Lenza

European Central Bank (ECB) ( email )

Sonnemannstrasse 22
Frankfurt am Main, 60314
Germany

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