ECB scraps embargoed media speeches in wake of hedge fund storm

Pulse Staff 17:23 - 20 May 2015

LONDON, May 20 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank (ECB) said on Wednesday it would stop providing journalists embargoed copies of its speeches, as a storm grew over one of its top policymakers giving hedge funds a head start on market sensitive information.

ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeure gave a speech to an invitation-only dinner of fund managers, bankers and academics in London on Monday that said the bank would accelerate its bond buying programme to offset an expected summer lull.

The comments had moved the euro as well as stock and bond markets when the speech was made public on Tuesday.

An ECB spokesman said that the decision on embargoes was a "tightening up of procedures" after what had happened on Monday.

The ECB often provides journalists with the speeches before they are delivered so that they can be reported by news outlets simultaneously, lowering the chances of people trading on privileged information. (Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Louise Ireland)