(Updates with details)
FRANKFURT, Nov 19 (Reuters) - The chief executives of
Germany's two top banks, Deutsche Bank and
Commerzbank, warned about inflation on Friday, while
the chairman of BNP Paribas said the real issue is
growth.
The bankers were speaking at a conference in Frankfurt as
investors closely watch the European Central Bank for its
reaction to accelerating inflation.
Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing said inflation will
"persist for longer" and Commerzbank CEO Manfred Knof said "we
believe inflation is going to stay.
Sewing also said a reaction from the ECB was needed earlier
than ECB President Christine Lagarde had just suggested.
But BNP Paribas Chairman Jean Lemierre said slightly higher
inflation "would not be bad" and that there should not be an
"endless discussion" about inflation.
"The real question today is not inflation but growth," he
said.
(Reporting by Tom Sims and Frank Siebelt; Editing by Zuzanna
Szymanska and Thomas Escritt)
HSBC Holdings (HSBA)