(Nov 9): Europe is set to benefit from recent market turmoil in the US as investors seek a safe haven, according to European Investment Bank (EIB) president Nadia Calvino.
“Turbulence in the US is making capital flow to Europe,” she told Bloomberg TV in an interview on Monday. “I expect that to continue.”
Calvino said she doesn’t see any negative impact on investment in Europe at the moment, adding that there had been very strong demand for EIB bond issuance and that she expects more of the same in January.
“Right now we’re confronted with turbulence and instability in the financial markets, so it’s of the utmost importance that we preserve Europe as a safe haven in this context,” she said.
Calvino, who heads the Luxembourg-based institution that is effectively the lending arm of the European Union, was speaking as euro-area finance ministers meet in Brussels for the first time since nominations closed for candidates to replace European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde.
She expects her successor to “continue her policies and approach,” she said. “It is critical we preserve independence in decision making” at the ECB, she added.
Dutchman Klaas Knot and Spain’s Pablo Hernandez de Cos are the two official candidates to succeed Lagarde, who is stepping down almost nine months early. Calvino described both as “very strong technically.”
Speaking ahead of Monday’s meeting, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, president of the Eurogroup, said that the gathering would be an “information point” in the process of selecting a candidate.
“We understand that we need to move fast,” he said. “The ambition here is that the whole process would have completed itself by the end of the year. It’s a tight schedule.”
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