The European Central Bank has taken a swipe at US President Donald Trump, saying his administration is threatening financial stability by going to war with Iran, repeatedly changing its trade policies and backing away from international co-operation.
The risk of a geopolitical shock triggering a financial crisis is intensifying because of increasingly “stretched” asset valuations and doubts about the sustainability of high government debt levels, the ECB said in its twice-yearly financial stability review.
The Middle East conflict, which began when the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, is putting the resilience of the financial system “to the test”, ECB vice-president Luis de Guindos wrote in his final review before stepping down at the end of May.