European Central Bank

Monetary policy

Latest ECB press conference

ECB President Christine Lagarde explained the Governing Council’s latest monetary policy decisions and answered questions from journalists at a press conference on 12 December 2019.
- Introductory statement (with Q&A)
- Press release
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11 December 2019 ACCOUNTABILITY

ECB opinion on Executive Board member

The Governing Council has no objection to the proposal to appoint Isabel Schnabel as a member of the ECB’s Executive Board. Once the European Parliament has given its opinion, the proposal will move to the European Council. If appointed, Ms Schnabel will start her term on 1 January 2020.

4 December 2019 PAYMENTS

ECB monitors new payment technologies

The ECB continues to monitor how new technologies change payment behaviour in the euro area. This includes exploring how, and to which extent, central banks would need to adapt their policies and instruments to face challenges that could arise from such changes.

ECB note to Ecofin on the retail payment landscape

12/12/2019: Monetary policy decisions
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11/12/2019: ECB adopts opinion on appointment of new Executive Board member
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11/12/2019: Euro area securities issues statistics: October 2019
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10/12/2019: Consolidated financial statement of the Eurosystem as at 6 December 2019
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Commentary
English
04/12/2019: Euro area bank interest rate statistics: October 2019
English

All press releases

12/12/2019: Christine Lagarde, Luis de Guindos: Introductory statement to the press conference (with Q&A)
Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, Frankfurt am Main, 12 December 2019
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03/12/2019: Benoît Cœuré: The single currency: an unfinished agenda
Speech by Benoît Cœuré, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the ECB Representative Office in Brussels, 3 December 2019
English
02/12/2019: Christine Lagarde: Hearing at the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament
Introductory statement by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the ECON committee of the European Parliament
English

Transcript of the hearing
Multiple languages
29/11/2019: Luis de Guindos: Closing remarks
Closing remarks by Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, at the VIII High-level Policy Dialogue between Eurosystem and Latin American central banks
English
28/11/2019: Philip R. Lane: Determinants of the real interest rate
Remarks by Philip R. Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the National Treasury Management Agency
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All speeches

02/12/2019: Luis de Guindos: Interview with El Mundo
Interview with Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, conducted by Pablo Rodríguez Suanzes on 25 November 2019
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23/11/2019: Philip R. Lane: Interview with Sky TG24
Transcript of the interview with Philip R. Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Alessandro Marenzi, Sky TG24, with the participation of Federico Fubini, Corriere della Sera, and Franco Bruni, Bocconi University, broadcast on 23 November 2019
English
20/11/2019: Philip R. Lane: Q&A with Fortune
Q&A with Philip R. Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Maithreyi Seetharaman on 18 November 2019 at Fortune Global Forum
English
20/11/2019: Philip R. Lane: Interview with La Repubblica
Interview with Philip R. Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Tonia Mastrobuoni on 14 November 2019
English
12/11/2019: Luis de Guindos: Interview with Börsen-Zeitung
Interview with Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, conducted by Mark Schrörs and Detlef Fechtner on 5 November 2019 and published on 12 November
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All interviews

12/12/2019: Eurosystem staff macroeconomic projections for the euro area, December 2019
ENGLISH
04/12/2019: Working paper no. 2338: Inflation trends in Asia: implications for central banks
English
04/12/2019: Working paper no. 2337: The global financial cycle and capital flow episodes: a wobbly link?
English
04/12/2019: Research bulletin no. 65: How does sluggish updating of information affect consumer spending?
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03/12/2019: Working paper no. 2336: Financial cycles, credit bubbles and stabilization policies
English
03/12/2019: Working paper no. 2335: Merging structural and reduced-form models for forecasting: opening the DSGE-VAR box
English
02/12/2019: Working paper no. 2334: Firm-level employment, labour market reforms, and bank distress
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02/12/2019: Working paper no. 2333: Consumption response to minimum wages: evidence from Chinese households
English
29/11/2019: Working paper no. 2332: Product market regulation, business churning and productivity: evidence from the European Union countries
English
29/11/2019: Survey on the Access to Finance of Enterprises in the euro area − April to September 2019
English
English

Questionnaire
English

All publications

11/12/2019: Opinion on a Council recommendation on the appointment of a member of the Executive Board of the ECB (CON/2019/43)
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06/12/2019: Opinion on a guarantee scheme for securitisations of loans originated by credit institutions (CON/2019/42)
Greece,
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EλληνικάEL
26/11/2019: Opinion on increasing the special levy on selected financial institutions (CON/2019/40)
Slovakia,
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26/11/2019: Opinion on the requirement for certain credit institutions and branches to provide cash services (CON/2019/41)
Sweden,
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20/11/2019: Opinion on tax disincentives for the use of cash (CON/2019/39)
Greece,
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EλληνικάEL

All legal acts

29 November 2019 PODCAST

The euro: a tale of two decades

What was it like when the euro was launched in 1999? Where will the euro be in another 20 years? Our host Michael Steen talks about these questions and more with Erkki Liikanen, Martin Wolf and Siria Angino. Listen, subscribe and let us know what you think!

The ECB Podcast

BANKNOTES

New signature for euro banknotes

Euro banknotes are part of our economy, identity and culture. Each one bears the signature of one of the former presidents of the ECB. Banknotes featuring President Lagarde’s signature will gradually enter into circulation next year.

Interest rates

Marginal lending facility	0.25 %
Main refinancing operations (fixed rate)	0.00 %
Deposit facility	− 0.50 %

Effective from 18 September 2019

Past key ECB interest rates

Inflation rates

Full inflation chart
Inflation dashboard

Reference rates

USD	US dollar	1.1137
JPY	Japanese yen	120.95
GBP	Pound sterling	0.84560
CHF	Swiss franc	1.0939

Last update: Thursday, 12 December 2019 Euro foreign exchange rates

Financial stability

Market operations

Multimedia

Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, signing the euro banknotes, 28 November 2019
ECB Press Conference, 24 October 2019
The ECB explains: crypto-assets
ECB Forum on Central Banking 2019
Download the ECB Art App
Travelogue: ECB Executive Board member Benoît Cœuré visiting Vorwerk factory in Cloyes-sur-le-Loir
Euro Banknotes – Our Money, Our Journey
Unveiling of the New 100 and 200 Euro Banknotes
20 years of ESCB statistics: What's next?
ECB Interview with Cornelia Holthausen

New signature for euro banknotes - 28 November 2019
Christine Lagarde's Keynote Speech - European Banking Congress 2019
Farewell President Draghi - 28 October 2019
ECB Conference on Gender and Career Progression - 21 October 2019
European Cultural Days of the ECB: Museumssalon - October 23 2019
ECB Press Conference - 24 October 2019
European Cultural Days of the ECB: Museumssalon - October 23 2019
European Cultural Days -10 October 2019
Sendung mit der Maus Tag der offenen Tür - 3 October 2019
ECB Press Conference – 12 September 2019

The international role of the euro, June 2018
Financial integration in Europe, May 2018
Price and wage-setting in advanced economies
ESCB Legal Conference 2018
Legal framework of the Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks. ECB legal acts and instruments
Statistics for Economic and Monetary Union. Enhancements and new directions, 2003-12, by Peter Bull
The monetary policy of the ECB
The payment system – payments, securities and derivatives, and the role of the Eurosystem in this field