Market Information Thursday 20 February 2020

ING has announced that Ralph Hamers, CEO of the bank, will leave the bank on 30 June 2020. Hamers will start as chairman of the board at the Swiss bank UBS in September. In a press release, Hamers is praised for the digital transformation that the bank has undergone under his leadership. It is unknown who will succeed Hamers.

The minutes of the most recent policy meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee show that policy makers consider the current level of interest rates in the United States to be appropriate for the coming period. In addition, policy makers were more optimistic about the economic outlook than at the previous policy meeting. However, risks for further growth are closely monitored, with the corona virus being explicitly named. Finally, several policy makers discussed the possibility of restricting two purchase programs from the Fed, but there was no majority for this.

Statistics Netherlands has reported that consumer confidence in the Netherlands increased slightly in February 2020. The index that measures confidence rose from -3 in January to -2 this month. This means consumer confidence is still above the average for the past twenty years, which is at -5. The increase is mainly due to a more positive assessment of the economic climate. The willingness to buy remained constant compared to last month.

The 6M Euribor decreased with 1 basis point to -0.36% compared to previous business day. The 10Y Swap decreased with 1 basis point to -0.08% compared to previous business day.

In the attachment, today’s market data on money and capital market rates as well as other rates are presented.