Future Direction of the Euro

First a little background: in the wake of the financial crisis in 2008-2009, the ECB had been compelled to cut interest rates to negative; they currently sit at -0.4 %. The intent of negative rates is to encourage institutions to lend money rather than park it at the ECB. If euro banks aren’t lending, then they are forced to pay the ECB to sit on their cash, or take greater risks in their lending practices. This has been hurting EU bank profits for quite some time, as the chart below indicates. 
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Well, some relief may be on the way for EU banks, but this doesn’t necessarily bode well for anyone who is long the EURO. ​

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