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ECB Cracks A Joke, Says It Will "Publicly" Respond To Allegations It Privately Leaks Market-Moving News

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Earlier today the European obudsman Emily O'Reilly finally caught up with the ECB's "market moving" news from a week ago, namely that ECB personnel selectively leak market moving news to hedge funds in so called "Chattam House" rules closed meetings, ahead of proper public disclosure to everyone: easily the biggest sin a central bank, even one which clearly manipulates markets and monetizes debt, is capable of, one that clearly reveals who a central bank really works for.

The ECB promptly blamed the leak on an "internal procedure error" without clarifying just what the error was that allowed Benoit Coeure to leak ECB strategy 10 hours before it was made public.

As a result, O'Reilly sent the ECB the following letter:

Letter from the European Ombudsman to the President of the European Central Bank concerning a speech delivered by a member of the ECB Executive Board on 18 May 2015

 

Re: speech delivered by a member of the ECB Executive Board on 18 May 2015

 

Dear Mr President,

 

It has come to my attention that, in a speech delivered by a member of the ECB Executive Board on 18 May 2015 in London, potentially market sensitive information appears to have been disclosed to a limited audience.

 

I asked my services to contact the ECB Compliance and Governance Office to obtain further information. The Compliance and Governance Office replied, notably by drawing our attention to a number of press articles.

 

I note from these press reports that the ECB has explained that the delay between the delivery and publication of the speech in question resulted from an "internal procedural error" and that the ECB had taken steps to ensure that there would be no repeat of the problem.

 

I should be grateful if the ECB could provide a more detailed account of the incident in question and in particular of the measures it has taken to avoid a similar incident occurring in the future, so as to enable me to ascertain whether there is any need for action on my part. The more detailed account could also help both the Bank and the Ombudsman to respond promptly and effectively to any complaints that may be made about this matter

 

I would be grateful to receive a reply from the ECB within the next fortnight. For obvious reasons, your reply should in principle be public.

 

Finally, as you know, a meeting was held between our services on 11 May 2015 to discuss developments in relation to the ECB's rules on public access to documents and ethics. I will write to you separately about this.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Emily O'Reilly

 

Strasbourg, 27/05/2015

Good news: moments ago the ECB took a break from its endless scramble to find monetizable debt, and told the obudsman it would respond.

The punchline, of course, is that it would do so publicly. Because while the ECB clearly knows who to leak market moving news to first - those billionaire hedge fund managers who serve as a great counterpoint to Europe's 25% youth unemployment - it also has a sense of humor.

 

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Thu, 05/28/2015 - 11:30 | 6140066 Troy Ounce
Troy Ounce's picture

I am running out of sarcastic comments.

Thu, 05/28/2015 - 11:32 | 6140077 DavidC
DavidC's picture

I'm reminded (once again) of Lily Tomlin's quote, "No matter how cynical you become, it's never enough to keep up".

DavidC

Thu, 05/28/2015 - 12:12 | 6140236 KnuckleDragger-X
KnuckleDragger-X's picture

Yeah, it's hard to be cynical and paranoid enough when they constantly exceed my lowest expectations......

Thu, 05/28/2015 - 12:20 | 6140257 jarana
jarana's picture

Just pick any ECB public statement, and substitute the term OBUDSMAN by BUNCH OF MOTHER FUCKERS TRYING TO APPEAR AS HONEST and the term PUBLIC by BTFATH.

It usually does the trick.

Thu, 05/28/2015 - 11:30 | 6140070 Gold Eyed Cat
Gold Eyed Cat's picture

You never want your central bankers or your gynecologist to be a comedian.

Thu, 05/28/2015 - 11:33 | 6140084 pods
pods's picture

And make sure your proctologist has skinny fingers.  

Thu, 05/28/2015 - 11:42 | 6140118 ShorTed
ShorTed's picture

...and has never been on a superbowl winning team!

Thu, 05/28/2015 - 11:42 | 6140116 shovelhead
shovelhead's picture

You never want to hear...

"Holy Shit. It's like looking in a Chinese restaurant dumpster."

Thu, 05/28/2015 - 11:32 | 6140075 buzzsaw99
buzzsaw99's picture

i can leak every central bank statement from now until doomsday in one sentence:

there will be MOAR

Thu, 05/28/2015 - 11:34 | 6140079 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

1st rev:  Our answer will be public.

2nd rev:  All significant and relevant parts of our answer will be public.

3rd rev:  Part of our answer will be public.

4th rev:  We will provide the public with a condensed version of our answer.

5th rev:  We will announce publicly when we have answered (but not disclose the content).

6th rev:  It just happened.  You missed it.

Thu, 05/28/2015 - 12:13 | 6140245 KnuckleDragger-X
KnuckleDragger-X's picture

Magic all the way down...

Thu, 05/28/2015 - 11:33 | 6140082 madbraz
madbraz's picture

time to pull a FIFA on these corrupt schmucks

Thu, 05/28/2015 - 11:38 | 6140103 shovelhead
shovelhead's picture

Asking the age old question...

"Who farted?"

look for the one who's smiling.

Thu, 05/28/2015 - 11:41 | 6140109 silverserfer
silverserfer's picture

ECB statement = shit coming out of mouth like soft serve chocolate ice cream machine.  

Thu, 05/28/2015 - 11:42 | 6140112 Chuck Knoblauch
Chuck Knoblauch's picture

The Clown Car just drove up.

Thu, 05/28/2015 - 11:42 | 6140113 Fun Facts
Fun Facts's picture

European Central Bandits

Thu, 05/28/2015 - 12:15 | 6140254 Main_Sequence
Main_Sequence's picture

Fixed: European Cocksucking Bandits.

Thu, 05/28/2015 - 11:48 | 6140136 Oldwood
Oldwood's picture

Information is power, and with enough power it matters not if it is truth or fiction.

Thu, 05/28/2015 - 12:07 | 6140219 the grateful un...
the grateful unemployed's picture

no children look over here, see the evil soccer moms taking bribes and rigging games. yes thats more important

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