

Euro Crisis Monitor

The Euro Crisis Monitor is maintained by the Institute of Empirical Economic Research of Osnabrück University

TARGET2 is the abbreviation of “Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross Settlement Express Transfer System” – a real-time settlement system developed and maintained by the Eurosystem. The Eurosystem comprises the European Central Bank and national central banks of 19 member states of the European Union.

TARGET2 records claims and liabilities of national central banks, as well as the ECB, against the Eurosystem. A country’s TARGET2 balance is affected by its surpluses/deficits in (i) the current account, (ii) the financial account, and/or (iii) the capital account. It is reminiscent of a swap line operation or a change in foreign reserves under a fixed exchange rate arrangement.

Since October 2011, the Institute of Empirical Economic Research at Osnabrück University has been monitoring the evolution of TARGET2 balances, and Cheung, Steinkamp and Westermann (Journal of International Money & Finance, April 2020) have analysed their empirical determinants.

Download Data (last update: September 2020)

Raw data and high-resolution graphs are available in two versions:

Option 1 [download]

Based on data of the ECB's Statistical Data Warehouse, supplemented with data from national central banks Monthly averages of daily data before 5/2008, month-end values after 5/2008 Data are usually reported with lag of 2 month A convenient way for the press and public to access the data

Option 2 [download]

Based on data of the national central banks of the Euro Area. A complete data appendix can be found in "The role of creditor seniority in Europe's sovereign debt crisis", Sven Steinkamp & Frank Westermann, Economic Policy, 2014. End of month data Data sources report with lag of 1 month (but only infrequently updated here) Enables researchers to replicate/update studies on Target2-balances (written before 09/2016)

Research on Target2 and the Euro Crisis

Working Papers:

Evergreening in the Euro Area: Facts and Explanation

Aaron Tornell, Sven Steinkamp & Frank Westermann, IEW Working Paper #113, 07/2018.

Journal Articles:

Capital Flight to Germany: Two Alternative Measures

Yin-Wong Cheung, Sven Steinkamp & Frank Westermann, Journal of International Money and Finance, 2020.

Exit Strategies, Capital Flight and Speculative Attacks: Europe's Version of the Trilemma

Andreas Steiner, Sven Steinkamp & Frank Westermann, European Journal of Political Economy, 2019.

Multilateral Loans and Interest Rates: Further Evidence on the Seniority Conundrum

Sven Steinkamp & Frank Westermann, International Journal of Finance and Economics, 2017.

The role of creditor seniority in Europe's sovereign debt crisis

Sven Steinkamp & Frank Westermann, Economic Policy, 2014.

The Tragedy of the Commons and Inflation Bias in the Euro Area,

Valeriya Dinger, Sven Steinkamp & Frank Westermann, Open Economies Review, 2014.

TARGET2 and Central Bank Balance Sheets: Discussion

Frank Westermann, Economic Policy, 2014.

Target2-Salden: Datenquellen und Informationsgehalt als Krisenindikator,

Sven Steinkamp, Wirtschaftsdienst, 2014.



Selected Recent Press Coverage

Interview Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, August 9 2020

Gastbeitrag in AnlegerPlus, Ausgabe 5/2019

Gastbeitrag Handelsblatt-Online, Januar 14, 2019

Interview Börsenzeitung, August 08, 2018

