Since August 2014 the Target2 liabilities of the Bank of Italy to the Eurosystem are on an upward trend. From August 2014 to September 2016 they have increased by € 223.7 billion. According to the narrative of the ECB, surging Target2 liabilities of peripheral countries of the euro area would...

To fight deflationary pressures in the euro area, the ECB has been conducting exceptional policies, such as negative interest rates on excess reserves of banks on their accounts at the Eurosystem, or massive purchases of assets, essentially public bonds. The interest rate on the main refinancing...