ECB monetary operations
On January 4, the European Central Bank announced the seven-day main refinancing operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on Januar
ECB monetary operations
On December 21, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced the seven-day main refinancing operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on December 22 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €0.26 billion, €0.08 billion less than the bid amount of the previous week. The amount was allotted in full at a fixed rate equivalent to the prevailing MRO rate of zero per cent, in accordance with current ECB policy.
Domestic Treasury bill market
In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day and 182-day bills for settlement value December 24, maturing on March 25 and June 24, 2021, respectively. Bids of €111 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €41 million, while bids of €103 million were submitted for the 182-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €53 million. Since €49 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bi
Anthony Manduca pays tribute to some of the prominent Maltese people who died this year.
Cardinal Prospero Grech, died on December 30, 2019, aged 94.
The Augustinian scholar who became the second cardinal in Maltese history was one of 22 cardinals appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in February 2012. Once described as “possibly the most intelligent man alive” by English priest Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith in an article in the Catholic Herald, Cardinal Grech served as a professor at the Augustine Institute in Rome. In 1970, he co-founded the Institutum Patristicum Augustinianum attached to the Lateran University in Rome and served as its president from 1971 to 1979. In 2011, he was appointed a Companion of the National Order of Merit.
ECB monetary operations
On December 14, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced the seven-day MRO. The operation was conducted on December 15 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €0.34 billion, €0.10 billion more than the bid amount of the previous week. The amount was allotted in full at a fixed rate equivalent to the prevailing MRO rate of zero per cent in accordance with current ECB policy.
On December 16, the ECB conducted the three-month, longer-term refinancing operation to be settled as a fixed rate tender procedure with full allotment, with the rate fixed at the average MRO rate over the life of the operation. The operation attracted bids of €0.48 billion from euro area eligible counterparties. The amount was allotted in full in accordance with current ECB policy.