FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny listens during a news conference in Vienna, Austria, March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader
October 27, 2017
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank can and should avoid the default of states that form part of the euro zone in order to preserve the unity of the currency bloc, ECB policymaker Ewald Nowotny said on Friday.
“This (redenomination to other currencies) is a kind of risk that the ECB cannot and should not accept,” Nowotny, who is Austria’s central bank governor, said.
“The risk of a sovereign default… is something that the ECB has the power to avoid and should use its power to avoid,” he added.
“Because this is part of the mandate,” the outspoken policymaker said.
(Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Balazs Koranyi)
