ECB back in spotlight after US Federal Reserve hikes rates by quarter point

Leading economist Austin Hughes has said the ECB "should decouple" from the US central bank over interest rates

Philip Lane, chief economist at the ECB: Speaking before the US Fed rate hike, Mr Lane appeared to play down the the prospects for further fallout for the banking system

The US central bank unveiled a quarter-point increase in interest rates on Wednesday night, a move that will be studied for clues on future hikes by the European Central Bank here amid the global banking crisis. 

The spectacular collapse in the last two weeks of four US banks, including Silicon Valley Bank, Signature, and lender Silvergate, has been partly blamed on the rapid rise of global interest rates starting last year, as global central banks aggressively fought against surging inflation.