ECB to create 500 jobs ahead of supervisory duties in 2014

The European Central Bank will hire more than 500 new staff before it takes over banking supervision, ECB vice-president Vitor Constancio said.

“I would say it would have to be slightly above 500, but not reaching 1,000,” Mr Constancio said in an interview yesterday.

European Union finance ministers this week agreed to put the ECB in charge of all 6,000 euro-area lenders in a deal that paves the way for the currency bloc’s firewall fund to provide direct bailouts to banks.

The new supervisor should be operationally ready by March 1st, 2014, with 150 to 200 banks automatically overseen by the ECB and the others being moved under the auspices of the central bank if needed.

Asked whether the ECB may lower interest rates if economic conditions worsen, Mr Constancio said "the risks are to the downside and if they materialise as they have done in the past, certainly we will think to adjust our policies to face what will be a different situation" . – (Bloomberg)