Tell me more

What are currency swap lines?

27 September 2016

Central banks across the world are linked to each other through a network of currency swap lines. But what exactly are currency swap lines, why are they needed and how do they work?
more

... about instant payments

26 September 2016

Why, in a world of smartphones and instant messages, can it still take a day or more to make an electronic payment? Work is now under way to develop a pan-European instant payment scheme that will make your payments fly.
more

What is the role of exchange rates?

28 June 2016

Exchange rates affect our daily lives in many ways, for example when we go on holiday outside the euro area, when we buy products made overseas or when we fill up the car at the petrol station. Exchange rates influence prices and growth. Find out what this means for monetary policy.
more

Spotlight on financial stability

24 May 2016

A stable financial system is resilient against shocks. But what does that mean in practice? And how does the ECB support financial stability?
more

What is ANFA?

5 February 2016

ANFA is the Agreement on Net Financial Assets between the national central banks of the euro area and the ECB. It sets rules and limits for non-monetary policy holdings which are related to national tasks of the national central banks within the Eurosystem.
more

… about how the ECB’s asset purchase programme works

22 January 2016

A year after the ECB launched its expanded asset purchase programme (APP), its impact is becoming visible. Find out how the programme works and how you benefit from it.
more

What is money?

24 November 2015

Euro banknotes and coins are money but so is the balance on a bank account. What actually is money? How is it created and what is the ECB’s role?
more

What is AnaCredit?

11 November 2015

AnaCredit will be a new dataset with detailed information on individual bank loans in the euro area. The name stands for “analytical credit datasets”.
more

Five things you need to know about the ECB

10 July 2015

If we asked you to name some basic things about the ECB, what would you say? Here are five key points.
more

Is the ECB “expropriating” savers?

18 May 2015

Are the ECB’s low policy interest rates a tax on savers? A new study shows that the decisive factor for savers over the medium and longterm is not central bank policy interest rates but the state of the economy.
more

What is the expanded asset purchase programme?

22 January 2015

On 22 January 2015 the ECB announced an expanded asset purchase programme. This programme adds the purchase of sovereign bonds to the ECB's existing private sector asset purchase programmes to address the risks of a too prolonged period of low inflation.
more

… about the rotation of voting rights in the Governing Council

1 December 2014

The national central bank governors take turns holding voting rights on the Governing Council. Find out how decisions are taken and why the rotations system of voting rights was introduced.
more

… about the ECB’s negative interest rate

12 June 2014

On 5 June 2014 the Governing Council’s decided to introduce a negative interest rate on the deposit facility. What is the rationale behind this decision? How does it affect your savings?
more