19 November 2024By Luis de GuindosMeeting the EU’s climate neutrality targets calls for deep structural changes and significant private funding, requiring a healthy financial system. That’s why we’ve tested how resilient banks, investment funds and insurers are to stresses arising during the green transition. ECB Vice-President Luis de Guindos explains…

14 November 2024 By Yıldız Akkaya, John Hutchinson, Kasper Jørgensen and Emanuel SkeppåsThe Eurosystem has started to reduce its bond holdings. This ECB Blog post investigates how strongly the shrinking balance sheet affects long-term interest rates. Estimates based on the Survey of Monetary Analysts suggest: an expected €1 trillion reduction…

12 November 2024Christine LagardeComplacency in fighting climate change and preserving biodiversity is endangering our economic survival. The longer we wait, the higher the costs will be. Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, warns of the growing gap between the commitments made and the investment needed.We’ve all heard it…

1 November 2024By Piero CipolloneAs they juggle various cards, apps and devices, most Europeans find that digital payments have fallen short of their promise to provide a convenient euro area-wide solution. The ECB’s Piero Cipollone explains how a digital euro would blend the simplicity of cash with digital convenience. Twenty-five…

24 October 2024By Matthias RumpfPeople have tended to be quite hesitant to trust banks abroad. That seems to be changing. In a post featuring interactive charts for you to explore, The ECB Blog shows that cross-border bank deposits of private households have picked up recently. To what extent are euro…

9 October 2024By Dennis Essers, Laura Lebastard, Michele Mancini, Ludovic Panon and Jacopo TiminiChina has been an important and reliable supplier of critical inputs for European industries for decades. But how vulnerable would our companies be if that suddenly stopped? The ECB Blog estimates the potential losses in value added…

3 October 2024By Lorenzo Baldassarri, Dimitris Georgarakos, Geoff Kenny and Justus MeyerMonetary policy decisions have direct financial consequences for many consumers, especially as they influence mortgage conditions. The ECB Blog looks at how these effects differ based on consumers’ mortgage situations and why that matters for the transmission of monetary…

25 September 2024By Ema Ivanova[1], Thomas McGregor, Stefano Nardelli[2] and Annukka RistiniemiThe views expressed in each blog entry are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the European Central Bank and the Eurosystem.The job of central banks is to help the economy navigate shocks and…

23 September 2024By Federico Maria Ferrara, Tobias Linzert, Benoit Nguyen, Imène Rahmouni-Rousseau, Marta Skrzypińska and Lia Vaz Cruz[1]Hedge funds have substantially increased their trading activity in euro area government bond and repo markets. The ECB Blog evaluates how this plays out for market functioning and intermediation. Government bonds are central…

17 September 2024By Gert Bijnens, Cédric Duprez[1] and John Hutchinson Energy-intensive firms continue to suffer from low profits margins even as energy prices have fallen from their peak. The ECB Blog discusses implications for the green transition in the EU. Skyrocketing energy prices during the recent crisis ate into most…

3 September 2024By Alexander Al-Haschimi, Lorenz Emter, Vanessa Gunnella, Iván Ordoñez Martínez, Tobias Schuler and Tajda SpitalEuro area exporters are facing tougher competition from China. But why is that? The ECB Blog looks at the important role played by price competitiveness and the ongoing industrial upgrades being made in China.Euro…

15 August 2024By Evangelos Charalambakis, Omiros Kouvavas and Pedro NevesHow quickly do consumers react to rate hikes? The answer depends in part on how much they know about financial matters. This ECB Blog post shows that the better informed they are, the quicker their reaction.When central banks raise interest rates…

31 July 2024By Stefan Gebauer, Thomas McGregor and Julian SchumacherCentral banks choose their words very carefully. And rightly so – policy makers’ wording can move markets and, eventually, the economy. This ECB Blog post shows how unexpected changes in communication influence growth and inflation.Central banks need to communicate clearly. This…

23 July 2024By Svetla Daskalova, Federico Maria Ferrara, Pedro Formoso da Silva, Pamina Karl and Thomas Vlassopoulos[1]Repo markets are vital for banks to source liquidity and securities. They also represent an essential link in the monetary policy transmission chain. While the Eurosystem is in the process of reducing its market…

10 July 2024By Jakob Feveile Adolfsen, Danielle Kedan and Marie-Sophie LappeThe green transition will significantly increase demand for key minerals over the coming decades. The impact on energy prices will ultimately depend on how supply adjusts. The ECB Blog looks at the geopolitical risks involved. The green transition relies on…

4 July 2024By Ursel Baumann, Annalisa Ferrando, Dimitris Georgarakos, Yuriy Gorodnichenko, Judit Rariga and Timo Reinelt Firms’ inflation expectations are key for monetary policy makers. The ECB Blog presents new survey data on these expectations, evidence on what influences them, how they change when new information becomes available, and if…

27 June 2024By Othman Bouabdallah, Ettore Dorrucci, Lucia Hoendervangers and Carolin NerlichEurope needs trillions of euros to manage climate change, become digital and defend itself. How can EU and national policymakers support these projects? This Blog post discusses the options in times of low growth and high public debt levels.The…

25 June 2024By Piero CipolloneA digital euro would combine the convenience of digital payments with cash-like features. ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone explains how a digital euro would enhance Europeans’ freedom of choice when deciding how to pay.Freedom lies at the heart of the European Union’s principles. Every EU…

18 June 2024Tom Hudepohl, Pamina Karl, Tobias Linzert, Benoit Nguyen, Marta Skrzypińska, Lia Vaz Cruz[1] With the reduction of the Eurosystem’s balance sheet, central bank liquidity is declining. As liquidity is unevenly distributed among banks, an effective redistribution and use of market funding are essential. This worked well so far,…

13 June 2024By Maarten G.A. DamanMany people appreciate privacy when paying, and want their data protected. Current electronic means of payment are not optimal in this regard. We are designing the digital euro to be the most private electronic payment option. The ECB Blog explains.Paying is a private affair for many…

12 June 2024By Piero CipolloneMore reforms are needed if the euro is to maintain and strengthen its role amid geopolitical shifts. Europe needs to further develop the infrastructure for making cross-border payments in euro with key partners. For the last quarter of a century, the euro has been a key…

8 June 2024By Christine LagardeThe ECB has cut interest rates. President Christine Lagarde explains why and sets out what still needs to be done to bring inflation back to 2% over the medium term.Two years ago, we started raising interest rates because inflation was far too high. Today, the situation…

23 May 2024By Sarah Holton and Gerrit Koester[1]Negotiated wage growth in the euro area increased in the first quarter of 2024. This post on The ECB Blog illustrates how the ECB wage tracker can help to put latest developments in negotiated wage growth into perspective.The ECB wage tracker – an…

22 May 2024By Christophe Kamps[1]Why do central banks mostly give their guidance for future monetary policy in qualitative terms rather than providing a numerical formula? The ECB Blog takes a look through the lens of the “ABCs” of the ECB’s qualitative reaction function.For thousands of years scholars have been chasing…

15 May 2024By Omiros Kouvavas and Athanasios TsiortasDespite rising interest rates, more consumers are applying for loans. This demand comes mainly from households with lower income. The ECB Blog takes a closer look into credit applications and how they affect banks’ credit standards and credit issuance to households.Recent results from…

6 May 2024By Óscar Arce and David SondermannSurprisingly strong employment growth in an environment of weak economic activity has recently led to declining labour productivity in the euro area. The ECB Blog discusses causes and prospects for a cyclical recovery in productivity growth. Over the first two decades of the…

2 May 2024By Claudio Bassi, Markus Behn, Michael Grill, Massimo Libertucci, Pär Torstensson and Peter WelzSome banks reduce balance sheet items around reporting dates. Such “window dressing” camouflages the true risks of a bank, impairs markets as well as bank resilience and supervision. The ECB Blog looks at how regulators…

18 April 2024By Andrew Kanutin[1]We updated our data on the impact of climate change on the financial system. How green are green bonds and banks’ loan portfolios? How strongly could they be affected by natural hazards? The ECB Blog discusses these and other new insights from the data.  The ECB…

3 April 2024By Jacopo Cimadomo and Demosthenes Ioannou Governments and central banks can shield the economy from shocks with their decisions. The ECB Blog looks at a recent high-level conference that analysed the interaction of fiscal and monetary policy and questioned some long-held beliefs. Governments and central banks reacted boldly…

22 March 2024Federico Maria Ferrara, Tom Hudepohl, Pamina Karl, Tobias Linzert, Benoit Nguyen, Lia Vaz Cruz[1]The Eurosystem is shrinking its balance sheet, which makes more government bonds available for purchase. The ECB Blog looks at how markets are adjusting to this new situation with regard to bond price volatility, liquidity…

14 March 2024By Carolin Benack and Stefan RuhkampCentral banks have been collecting art for a long time. While the works were previously only accessible at their physical locations, more and more central banks now make their collections available online. The ECB Blog showcases four collections you can enjoy from wherever…

11 March 2024By Philip R. Lane[1]In 2021-22 inflation surged due to the direct and indirect effects of the energy shock, together with a set of pandemic-related factors and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In this post on The ECB Blog, Chief Economist Philip R. Lane looks at the monetary policy…

22 February 2024By Ulrich Bindseil and Jürgen SchaafBitcoin has failed on the promise to be a global decentralised digital currency. Instead it is used for illicit transactions. The latest approval of an ETF doesn’t change the fact that Bitcoin is not suitable as means of payment or as an investment. On…

19 February 2024By Ulrich Bindseil, Piero Cipollone and Jürgen Schaaf Many banks worry their customers might withdraw deposits to hold digital euro instead. These fears are misplaced: a digital euro will be designed as a means of payment and not for investment, argue ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone, Ulrich…

13 February 2024By Imène Rahmouni-Rousseau and Isabel Schnabel[1]When reading data on reinvestments under the pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP) one needs to understand how we implement purchases. Director General Market Operations Imène Rahmouni-Rousseau and Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel explain how to avoid pitfalls.In March 2020, the ECB launched the…

29 January 2024By Piero Cipollone, Philip Lane and Isabel SchnabelThe ECB can lend euro to non-euro area central banks to reduce the risk of financial stress spilling over to the euro area. Piero Cipollone, Philip Lane and Isabel Schnabel explain how we have made such liquidity lines more effective and…

10 January 2024By Matteo FalagiardaWithin the euro area, countries in central and eastern Europe have recently experienced the highest inflation rates. But why, exactly? The ECB Blog looks at the reasons for these higher prices and highlights the resulting risks and vulnerabilities.Since 2021 inflation in euro area countries in central…

30 December 2023By Paschal Donohoe (President of the Eurogroup), Christine Lagarde (President of the European Central Bank), Roberta Metsola (President of the European Parliament), Charles Michel (President of the European Council) and Ursula von der Leyen (President of the European Commission)25 years ago, on 1 January 1999, the euro came…

18 December 2023By Friderike Kuik, Wolfgang Modery, Christiane Nickel and Miles ParkerThis is the sixth post in our series accompanying COP28.The ECB’s primary mandate is to maintain price stability. So why do we talk about climate change? In this post on The ECB Blog, we show how a hotter climate…

12 December 2023By Ludivine Berret, Jean Boissinot, Marianna Caccavaio, Michael Grill, Paul Hiebert and Fabio TamburriniThis is the fifth post in our series accompanying COP28.Climate change can endanger financial stability. The ECB Blog looks at how a common macroprudential policy framework could complement microprudential initiatives to make the financial system…