Digital euro
The Eurosystem is preparing for the potential issuance of a digital euro to complement physical cash.
SPEECH
12 February 2026
Europe and monetary sovereignty
Europe must not take its monetary sovereignty for granted in a world undergoing geopolitical and technological changes, says Executive Board member Piero Cipollone. Reducing excessive dependencies in payments and finance is key for resilience, competitiveness and economic security.
Read the speech
INTERVIEW
10 February 2026
Resilience in times of uncertainty
The economy has proven more resilient than we had projected, Vice-President Luis de Guindos tells Econostream Media. Our monetary policy stance is appropriate for the current circumstances, but given the potential risks, we will keep our options open.
Read the Vice-President's interview
THE ECB BLOG
10 February 2026
How tariffs spill over to the euro area
Foreign import tariffs tend to lower euro area goods inflation and weaken activity. However, the sectors most exposed are also those most responsive to interest rate changes. This means that monetary policy can help offset disinflationary pressures and support activity.
Read The ECB Blog- 12 February 2026
- PRESS RELEASE
- 11 February 2026
- PRESS RELEASE
- 11 February 2026
- PRESS RELEASE
- 10 February 2026
- WEEKLY FINANCIAL STATEMENTEnglishOTHER LANGUAGES (22) +Annexes
- 10 February 2026
- WEEKLY FINANCIAL STATEMENT - COMMENTARY
- 9 February 2026
- PRESS RELEASE
- 12 February 2026
- Speech by Piero Cipollone, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei
- 11 February 2026
- Speech by Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at a lecture in memory of Eugen Böhm von Bawerk, Österreichische Akademie der WissenschaftenAnnexes
- 11 February 2026
- 9 February 2026
- Speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the plenary session of the European ParliamentRelated
- 28 April 2025
- EnglishOTHER LANGUAGES (22) +
- 9 February 2026
- Slides by Philip R. Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, at Maynooth University in Ireland
- 6 February 2026
- Speech by Piero Cipollone, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the event “The digital euro in Cyprus”
- 10 February 2026
- Interview with Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, conducted by Marta Vilar on 6 February 2026
- 8 February 2026
- Interview with Piero Cipollone, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Thalia Neophytou on 6 February 2026
- 28 January 2026
- Interview with Piero Cipollone, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Manuel V. Gomez on 22 January 2026
- 26 January 2026
- Interview with Piero Cipollone, conducted by Markus Zydra and Meike Schreiber on 15 January 2026
- 15 January 2026
- Interview with Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, conducted by Kathryn Carlson, Geoffrey Smith and Johanna Treeck
- 12 February 2026
- Europe has ideas, talent and strong institutions, but it lacks scale. By introducing a 28th regime, Europe can unlock its full potential, allowing firms to turn innovation into economic growth.Details
- JEL Code
- O10 : Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth→Economic Development→General
E30 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles→General
E40 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Money and Interest Rates→General
- 10 February 2026
- Import tariffs imposed by other countries tend to lower euro area inflation and weaken growth. However, the sectors most exposed are also the most responsive to interest rate changes. This means that monetary policy can help offset disinflationary pressures and support activity.Details
- JEL Code
- E50 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit→General
E31 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles→Price Level, Inflation, Deflation
F40 : International Economics→Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance→General
- 6 February 2026
- Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026. With this, Българската народна банка (the Bulgarian National Bank) became a full shareholder and the Bulgarian governor has taken a seat on the ECB’s Governing Council. This blog post explains what this means for the Eurosystem.Details
- JEL Code
- E50 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit→General
- 26 January 2026
- An effective transmission of monetary policy to credit is key for supporting investment and growth. This blog post examines the recent credit recovery, highlighting that it has been more gradual than in past episodes and explores the factors behind this sluggish recovery.Details
- JEL Code
- E50 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit→General
E51 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit→Money Supply, Credit, Money Multipliers
- 19 January 2026
- The way central banks communicate has a profound impact on how people perceive monetary policy. But who delivers messages also matters. This ECB Blog post explains how the messenger can affect both the reach and influence of policy communication.Details
- JEL Code
- E50 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit→General
- 12 February 2026
- OTHER PUBLICATION
- 12 February 2026
- WORKING PAPER SERIES - No. 3187Details
- Abstract
- Central clearing counterparties (CCPs) manage counterparty risk by requiring clearing members to post margins. This paper explores the role of margins as “canaries in the coal mine:” By inducing defaults of fragile counterparties before contract maturity, margin calls enable CCPs to transfer these contracts to other counterparties, thereby preserving risk sharing. Our model reveals a pecking order of CCP risk management tools. When fragility is low, loss sharing among original counterparties suffices. When fragility is high, such that defaults at contract maturity would trigger cascading failures among clearing members, the CCP optimally complements loss sharing with margins. It is optimal to use margins as canaries when the balance sheets of fragile counterparties are severely impaired. Our findings highlight the complementary nature of CCP risk management tools: margins, loss sharing, and counterparty replacement.
- JEL Code
- G22 : Financial Economics→Financial Institutions and Services→Insurance, Insurance Companies, Actuarial Studies
G23 : Financial Economics→Financial Institutions and Services→Non-bank Financial Institutions, Financial Instruments, Institutional Investors
D82 : Microeconomics→Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty→Asymmetric and Private Information, Mechanism Design
- 12 February 2026
- WORKING PAPER SERIES - No. 3186Details
- Abstract
- We design a Bayesian Mixed-Frequency vector autoregression (VAR) model for fiscal monitoring, i.e., to nowcast the government deficit-to-GDP ratio in real time and provide a narrative for its dynamics. The model incorporates both monthly cash and quarterly accrual fiscal indicators, together with other high-frequency macroeconomic and financial variables, as well as real GDP and the GDP deflator. Our model produces timely monthly density nowcasts of the annual deficit ratio, while governments and official institutions generally only publish their point predictions bi-annually. Based on a database of real-time vintages of macroeconomic, financial and fiscal variables for Italy, we show that the nowcasts of the annual deficit to GDP ratio of our model are similarly or more accurate than those of the European Commission, depending on the month in which the nowcast is produced. Our scenario analysis compares the dynamics of the deficit ratio associated with a monetary and a typical recession, finding a more muted response in the latter case.
- JEL Code
- C11 : Mathematical and Quantitative Methods→Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General→Bayesian Analysis: General
E52 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit→Monetary Policy
E62 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook→Fiscal Policy
E63 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook→Comparative or Joint Analysis of Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Stabilization, Treasury Policy
H68 : Public Economics→National Budget, Deficit, and Debt→Forecasts of Budgets, Deficits, and Debt
- 11 February 2026
- WORKING PAPER SERIES - No. 3185Details
- Abstract
- This paper investigates the relationship between institutional and regulatory quality, and high-tech sector investment. Using data from 25 European Union (EU) countries from 2004 to 2019 (extended to 2023 for artificial intelligence-specific analyses), the study examines how institutional governance, labour market regulations, and business regulations influence investments in innovative, high-tech, and artificial intelligence-intensive sectors. The findings reveal that better institutional quality and less burdensome regulations are associated with higher investment shares in innovative, high-tech, and artificial intelligence industries. Raising EU countries’ institutional and regulatory quality to the level of the current EU frontier could raise the share of investment in high-technology sectors by as much as 50%, hence notably narrowing the existent EU-US investment gap. These results highlight the importance of effective governance and efficient regulations in fostering investment, innovation, and therefore long-term productivity growth.
- JEL Code
- C23 : Mathematical and Quantitative Methods→Single Equation Models, Single Variables→Panel Data Models, Spatio-temporal Models
E02 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→General→Institutions and the Macroeconomy
L51 : Industrial Organization→Regulation and Industrial Policy→Economics of Regulation
O38 : Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth→Technological Change, Research and Development, Intellectual Property Rights→Government Policy
- 11 February 2026
- WORKING PAPER SERIES - No. 3184Details
- Abstract
- This paper examines the role of insurance in mitigating the adverse macroeconomic effects of climate-related catastrophes. We first develop a stylised theoretical growth model which incorporates a role for natural catastrophes, climate change and insurance. This illustrates how insurance can mitigate the impact of catastrophes and articulates the potential effect of falling insurance coverage as global warming intensifies. The model also provides a basis for our empirical analysis which explores the link between insurance coverage and the macroeconomic impact of catastrophes for a sample of several thousand disaster events across 47 developed and middle income countries between 1996 and 2019. The results confirm that higher insurance coverage is associated with less severe macroeconomic consequences of disasters. With climate-related catastrophes becoming ever more frequent and severe, our findings highlight the importance of developing policies to reduce the climate insurance protection gap.
- JEL Code
- G22 : Financial Economics→Financial Institutions and Services→Insurance, Insurance Companies, Actuarial Studies
G52 : Financial Economics
Q51 : Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics, Environmental and Ecological Economics→Environmental Economics→Valuation of Environmental Effects
Q54 : Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics, Environmental and Ecological Economics→Environmental Economics→Climate, Natural Disasters, Global Warming
- 11 February 2026
- OTHER PUBLICATION
- 10 February 2026
- WORKING PAPER SERIES - No. 3183Details
- Abstract
- I study price level determination in a currency union when some member countries’ government securities earn a convenience yield. These ”convenience assets” generate fiscal seigniorage revenues that, given appropriate fiscal and monetary policies, back the union’s price level, much like primary surpluses and monetary seigniorage do. An exogenous drop in the private-sector demand for convenience assets reduces seigniorage revenues and raises the price level. It also results in a wealth transfer across countries owing to the heterogeneity in convenience yields.
- JEL Code
- E31 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles→Price Level, Inflation, Deflation
E63 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook→Comparative or Joint Analysis of Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Stabilization, Treasury Policy
F45 : International Economics→Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance
- 10 February 2026
- WORKING PAPER SERIES - No. 3182Details
- Abstract
- We document empirically the money demand by European non-financial corporations by exploiting a unique and brand-new survey on their cash usage in a stress period. We also assess: (i) the relation between cash held and firm size; and (ii) estimate point values of cash holdings and carry out statistical comparisons along the sectoral and country dimensions. First, we find that cash holdings are inversely related to firm size, providing additional evidence that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) tend to store more cash relative to their larger peers. Second, we find that cash-intensive sectors and” cash-friendly” countries display right-shifted distributions of cash holdings with statistically-significant larger average holdings. We argue that in a low interest rate and low inflation environment cash holdings serve as a store of value for European firms, in particular for SMEs which are more likely to be financially constrained, especially in crisis times.
- JEL Code
- D22 : Microeconomics→Production and Organizations→Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
D25 : Microeconomics→Production and Organizations
E41 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Money and Interest Rates→Demand for Money
G01 : Financial Economics→General→Financial Crises
G32 : Financial Economics→Corporate Finance and Governance→Financing Policy, Financial Risk and Risk Management, Capital and Ownership Structure, Value of Firms, Goodwill
- 9 February 2026
- WORKING PAPER SERIES - No. 3181Details
- Abstract
- We use CPI micro data for nine euro area countries to document new evidence on consumer price stickiness in the euro area during the 2021-2024 inflation cycle. In 2022, the monthly frequency of price changes reached 12%, compared with an average of 8% over 2010–2019, roughly a four-percentage-point increase; it then fell quickly in 2023 and more slowly in 2024, ending close to its pre-pandemic level. The decline in the frequency of price changes was faster for food and nonenergy industrial goods (NEIG) than for services, where frequencies remained elevated in 2024. The overall frequency rose mainly because there were more price increases, while the magnitude of the average size of the price increases or decreases changed only marginally during the surge. Products with a larger imported-energy cost share responded more strongly, and hazard-rate evidence shows that the probability of price adjustments increases with the gap between actual and optimal prices, consistent with state-dependent pricing and a steepening of the Phillips curve. To illustrate the implications of this state dependence, a macro model suggests that peak inflation would have been almost 1 percentage point lower if the frequency had not responded to the inflation surge.
- JEL Code
- E31 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles→Price Level, Inflation, Deflation
E52 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit→Monetary Policy
F33 : International Economics→International Finance→International Monetary Arrangements and Institutions
L11 : Industrial Organization→Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance→Production, Pricing, and Market Structure, Size Distribution of Firms - Network
- Challenges for Monetary Policy Transmission in a Changing World Network (ChaMP)
- 9 February 2026
- WORKING PAPER SERIES - No. 3180Details
- Abstract
- Unlike past high-inflation episodes, the euro area labour market remained surprisingly resilient during the inflation surge of the early 2020s. This paper investigates the drivers of this resilience by combining long-span euro area macroeconomic data (1970–2025) with a structural VAR analysis that disentangles the roles of aggregate demand and supply, monetary policy, and factor-substitution shocks. Our findings show that, in contrast to the 1970s and 1980s, the decline in real wages has supported labour demand and, more broadly, the labour market, thereby helping to explain the decoupling between output and employment. We also find that monetary policy shocks have had a stronger impact on output than on employment,further amplifying the pro-cyclicality of labour productivity.
- JEL Code
- E24 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Consumption, Saving, Production, Investment, Labor Markets, and Informal Economy→Employment, Unemployment, Wages, Intergenerational Income Distribution, Aggregate Human Capital
E32 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles→Business Fluctuations, Cycles
C32 : Mathematical and Quantitative Methods→Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models, Multiple Variables→Time-Series Models, Dynamic Quantile Regressions, Dynamic Treatment Effect Models, Diffusion Processes
- 9 February 2026
- SURVEY OF MONETARY ANALYSTS - AGGREGATE RESULTS
- 6 February 2026
- LETTERS TO MEPS
- 6 February 2026
- ECONOMIC BULLETIN - BOXEconomic Bulletin Issue 1,Details
- Abstract
- This box summarises the main findings from recent contacts between ECB staff and representatives of 79 leading non-financial companies operating in the euro area. According to these exchanges, which took place between 5 and 14 January 2026, business momentum and confidence had continued to improve in recent months, although the outlook was clouded by concerns surrounding the competitiveness of the euro area in the wake of changing global trade patterns. Employment growth and its outlook remained lacklustre. Price growth remained moderate overall and continued to be driven by growth in services prices. Firms continued to anticipate further wage moderation.
- JEL Code
- E2 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Consumption, Saving, Production, Investment, Labor Markets, and Informal Economy
E3 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles
L2 : Industrial Organization→Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior
- 6 February 2026
- SURVEY OF PROFESSIONAL FORECASTERSAnnexes
- 6 February 2026
- SURVEY OF PROFESSIONAL FORECASTERS
- 3 February 2026
- EURO AREA BANK LENDING SURVEYAnnexes
- 3 February 2026
- EURO AREA BANK LENDING SURVEY - ANNEX
- 2 February 2026
- SURVEY ON THE ACCESS TO FINANCE OF ENTERPRISES IN THE EURO AREAAnnexes
- 2 February 2026
- SAFE QUESTIONNAIRE
- 28 January 2026
- WORKING PAPER SERIES - No. 3179Details
- Abstract
- This paper develops a novel empirical framework to analyse the drivers of business expectations in the euro area. Using harmonised data from the European Commission’s business surveys for manufacturing, services, and construction, we build composite business expectations indices (BEI) for activity and prices. These composite BEI exhibit strong predictive power for near-term real GDP growth and GDP deflator inflation. To identify the underlying forces shaping expectations, we estimate sector-specific structural Bayesian vector autoregression models, combining responses on expectations and reported limits to production. According to the results, demand-side shocks, notably product demand and financial conditions, account for the bulk of fluctuations in business expectations, with heterogeneous effects across sectors. Supply-side shocks, notably materials supply and labour conditions, play a significant role in driving price expectations, especially during the post-pandemic inflationary period. Our results demonstrate the value of a granular survey-based modelling approach for real-time economic analysis and policy assessment.
- JEL Code
- C11 : Mathematical and Quantitative Methods→Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General→Bayesian Analysis: General
E10 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→General Aggregative Models→General
E60 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook→General
- 28 January 2026
- WORKING PAPER SERIES - No. 3178Details
- Abstract
- We study how deposit rate shocks transmit across banking markets through digital social ties. Depositors’ inattention implies that households react to outside rate changes only when social networks make these changes salient, inducing connected banks to raise their own rates. Using merger-driven shocks to local deposit rates and county-level social connectedness, we show that small banks increase rates in response to shocks occurring in socially linked but geographically distant counties. Spillovers are economically meaningful, persistent, and stronger in competitive markets and in counties with more financially sophisticated households. Digital social ties therefore activate depositor search and integrate deposit markets across space.
- JEL Code
- G20 : Financial Economics→Financial Institutions and Services→General
G21 : Financial Economics→Financial Institutions and Services→Banks, Depository Institutions, Micro Finance Institutions, Mortgages
G23 : Financial Economics→Financial Institutions and Services→Non-bank Financial Institutions, Financial Instruments, Institutional Investors
G29 : Financial Economics→Financial Institutions and Services→Other
- 28 January 2026
- OTHER PUBLICATIONAnnexes
- 28 January 2026
- SURVEY ON CREDIT TERMS AND CONDITIONS IN EURO-DENOMINATED SECURITIES FINANCING AND OTC DERIVATIVES MARKETS
- 27 January 2026
- WORKING PAPER SERIES - No. 3177Details
- Abstract
- The EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) came into force on 1 October 2023, introducing reporting requirements for importers of covered products and, from 2026, an obligation to pay a fee on the carbon content of imported goods. This paper uses indices of ad valorem tariffs to assess the incidence of the EU CBAM on both EU member states and the EU’s trading partners. Overall, the direct impact on EU countries’ trade is estimated to be small, adding 0.1 percent to the value of EU imports when averaged across all imports, and 0.04 percent to the average cost of non-EU countries’ exports to the EU—with a maximum of 1.2 percent. However, effects could be sizeable for specific products such as iron, steel and aluminium, which can help explain CBAM’s political salience. Moreover, an expanded CBAM featuring full coverage of ETS sectors, and a significantly higher carbon price could entail larger costs in the more distant future.
- JEL Code
- F13 : International Economics→Trade→Trade Policy, International Trade Organizations
F64 : International Economics→Economic Impacts of Globalization→Environment
Q54 : Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics, Environmental and Ecological Economics→Environmental Economics→Climate, Natural Disasters, Global Warming
Q56 : Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics, Environmental and Ecological Economics→Environmental Economics→Environment and Development, Environment and Trade, Sustainability, Environmental Accounts and Accounting, Environmental Equity, Population Growth
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