The European Central Bank made no profits for the first time in 15 years in 2022 after suffering writedowns on its bond investments, with analysts predicting years of losses following the reversal of its ultra-loose monetary policies.
The ECB said on Thursday it would have made an annual loss of more than €1.6bn if it had not drawn on the provisions it has built up in recent years to cover financial risks, adding it would scrap the dividend it usually pays to eurozone national monetary authorities.
Those dividends — amounting to €5.8bn since 2018 — are usually passed on by the national central banks to eurozone governments. Some national central banks, including those in the Netherlands and Belgium, have warned their governments that they expect to make significant losses.