Foundations and flying butts

Matthew Lynn

What kind of building would symbolise the euro? Don't ask anyone at the European Central Bank in Frankfurt

Central bankers have a weakness for metaphors drawn from the building trade. Currencies have to be built on firm foundations. Banking systems must be buttressed to ensure stability. Inflation needs a ceiling, while the foreign exchange markets have to find a floor. Last month, the compliment was repaid. Some architects were given recognition for their banking symbols: ones made of cement, steel and glass. The European Central Bank (ECB) occupies a skyscraper in Frankfurt but has yet to have its own building. That is about to change. As befits an organisation that now controls the second-...