No-deal Brexit would be a significant shock to European economy - ECB's de Guindos

A disorderly Brexit would deliver "a significant shock" to an already weakened European economy, European Central Bank (ECB) vice-president Luis de Guindos told French daily Le Monde.

According to de Guindos, financial companies were well prepared to deal with an orderly Brexit but a no-deal scenario was bound to hurt the Eurozone.

"A disorderly Brexit... would represent a significant macroeconomic shock at a time when the European economy is already weakened," de Guindos said in an interview issued on Tuesday.

Asked about a continuing slowdown in Eurozone inflation, de Guindos struck a sanguine tone.

"Even if energy prices were to fall a little in the coming months, we are confident that inflation will, over the medium term, converge towards our aim of below, but close to, 2 percent," he said.

The ECB's VP added, however, that the bank had the tools to react if necessary, including by pushing back the timing of its first post-crisis interest rate hike, offering more long-term loans to banks, or continuing to reinvest proceeds from its 2.6 trillion euro bond portfolio. But it was in no rush to do so.

"We are currently analyzing the causes of the economic slowdown in Europe, some of which are temporary," he said. "We will not take a decision until we have conducted a thorough analysis."