European Central Bank

Speech

Asymmetric risks, asymmetric reaction

Our policy must remain forward-looking in the current fragile and uncertain macroeconomic situation, says Executive Board member Fabio Panetta at the Money Market Contact Group. Faced with sizeable downside risks, there is a strong case for our reaction function to be asymmetric.
- Speech

Our response to the coronavirus pandemic

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22 September 2020 ECONOMIC BULLETIN

Spike in uncertainty dampens economy

The coronavirus pandemic has triggered an unprecedented spike in uncertainty in the euro area, contributing to the decline in economic activity. This Economic Bulletin box looks at how measures of uncertainty have evolved over recent months and examines their effects on the economy.

Economic Bulletin Article

22 September 2020 ECONOMIC BULLETIN

Pandemic causes unprecedented savings

People have been saving more during the coronavirus pandemic, and remain cautious about their future spending despite these additional savings.

Economic Bulletin Article

22/09/2020: Consolidated financial statement of the Eurosystem as at 18 September 2020
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Commentary
English
22/09/2020: ECB to accept sustainability-linked bonds as collateral
English
21/09/2020: ECB proposes to reduce reporting burden for banks and increase data quality
English
18/09/2020: Euro area monthly balance of payments: July 2020
English
17/09/2020: ECB’s Governing Council says that exceptional circumstances justify leverage ratio relief
English

All press releases

22/09/2020: Fabio Panetta: Asymmetric risks, asymmetric reaction: monetary policy in the pandemic
Speech by Fabio Panetta, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the meeting of the ECB Money Market Contact Group
English
21/09/2020: Christine Lagarde: Jointly shaping Europe’s tomorrow
Introductory remarks by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly, 21 September 2020
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18/09/2020: Isabel Schnabel: Unequal scars – distributional consequences of the pandemic
Speech by Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the panel discussion “Verteilung der Lasten der Pandemie” (“Sharing the burden of the pandemic”), Deutscher Juristentag 2020
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Slides
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DeutschDE
15/09/2020: Fabio Panetta: Healing after the pandemic: supporting and sustaining the recovery
Speech by Fabio Panetta, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the 24th Economist Roundtable with the Government of Greece
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EλληνικάEL
13/09/2020: Christine Lagarde: Remarks at the Annual Meeting of the Council of Governors of the Arab Central Banks and Monetary Authorities
Contribution by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB during the session “Economic, financial and monetary impact of COVID-19 pandemic, and post-crisis options for policies and tools”
English

All speeches

20/09/2020: Luis de Guindos: Interview with La Razón
Interview with Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, conducted by Jesús Rivasés on 14 September 2020
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18/09/2020: Christine Lagarde: Interview with Challenges
Interview with Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, conducted by Jean-Pierre de La Rocque
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FrançaisFR
16/09/2020: Isabel Schnabel: Interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP)
Interview with Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Jean-Philippe Lacour
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31/08/2020: Isabel Schnabel: Interview with Reuters
Interview with Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Balazs Koranyi and Frank Siebelt on 28 August 2020 and published on 31 August 2020
English
27/08/2020: Philip R. Lane: Interview with CNBC
Interview with Philip R. Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Steve Liesman on 27 August 2020 and broadcast on 27 August 2020
English

All interviews

11/09/2020: Philip R. Lane: The outlook for the euro area
Blog post by Philip R. Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB

Summary
Our current measures are providing crucial support to the economic recovery in the euro area, writes Chief Economist Philip R. Lane. But there is no room for complacency as inflation remains far below the aim and risks continue to be tilted to the downside.
English
02/09/2020: Luis de Guindos, Fabio Panetta, Isabel Schnabel: Europe needs a fully fledged capital markets union – now more than ever
Blog post by Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, and Fabio Panetta and Isabel Schnabel, Members of the Executive Board of the ECB

Summary
The coronavirus crisis makes progress on capital markets union even more important, write Luis de Guindos, Fabio Panetta and Isabel Schnabel. In the light of the European Commission’s forthcoming Action Plan, they outline priority areas for reform to foster European capital markets.
English
19/08/2020: Fabio Panetta, Isabel Schnabel: The provision of euro liquidity through the ECB’s swap and repo operations
Blog post by Fabio Panetta and Isabel Schnabel, Members of the Executive Board of the ECB

Summary
The ECB’s swap and repo lines are essential stabilising tools in the coronavirus crisis. In a joint Blog post, Executive Board members Fabio Panetta and Isabel Schnabel explain how these tools reduce funding risks, prevent financial contagion and support the euro’s use in global transactions.
English
04/08/2020: Philip R. Lane: The macroeconomic impact of the pandemic and the policy response
Blog post by Philip R. Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB

Summary
While there has been some rebound in economic activity, the level of economic slack remains extraordinarily high and the outlook highly uncertain, writes Chief Economist Philip R. Lane. Progress in containing the virus will be central in determining the size and speed of the recovery.
English
23/07/2020: Christine Lagarde: Europe’s response to the crisis
Blog post by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB

Summary
Learning the lessons of the past, Europe has moved towards a new model for dealing with crises, writes President Christine Lagarde in The ECB Blog. We have shown that we can act quickly, adapt our institutions and lay the groundwork for forging a new Europe.
English

All blog posts

22/09/2020: Occasional paper no. 247: Stablecoins: Implications for monetary policy, financial stability, market infrastructure and payments, and banking supervision in the euro area
English
22/09/2020: COVID-19 and the increase in household savings: precautionary or forced?
English
Economic Bulletin Issue 6, 2020
22/09/2020: The impact of the recent spike in uncertainty on economic activity in the euro area
English
Economic Bulletin Issue 6, 2020
21/09/2020: The ESCB input into the EBA feasibility report under article 430c of the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR 2)
English
21/09/2020: Working paper no. 2469: Banking euro area stress test model
English
21/09/2020: China’s path to normalisation in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic
English
Economic Bulletin Issue 6, 2020
21/09/2020: Opinion of the European Central Bank of 18 September 2020 on a proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 as regards the exemption of certain third country foreign exchange benchmarks and the designation of replacement benchmarks for certain benchmarks in cessation (CON/2020/20)
English
18/09/2020: Working paper no. 2468: Forecasting the Covid-19 recession and recovery: lessons from the financial crisis
English
17/09/2020: Research bulletin no. 74: Why has inflation in the United States been so stable since the 1990s?
English
English
14/09/2020: Working paper no. 2467: The influence of OPEC+ on oil prices: a quantitative assessment
English

All publications

23 July 2020 STRATEGY REVIEW

ECB Listens event to take place on 21 October

The ECB Listens event will be held online on 21 October 2020. President Christine Lagarde and Chief Economist Philip R. Lane will engage with civil society organisations as part of our ongoing strategy review.

STRATEGY REVIEW

We want your input!

Tell us what you think we should consider in our monetary policy strategy review. Share your thoughts, opinions and ideas via the ECB Listens Portal – available in all euro area languages – by the end of October 2020.

Have your say via the ECB Listens Portal

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

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Reference rates

USD	US dollar	1.1740
JPY	Japanese yen	122.78
GBP	Pound sterling	0.91743
CHF	Swiss franc	1.0748

Last update: Tuesday, 22 September 2020 Euro foreign exchange rates

Financial stability

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ECB Governing Council Press Conference - 10 September 2020
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Join a Youth Dialogue with Christine Lagarde
ECB Governing Council Press Conference - 30 April 2020
Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, signing the euro banknotes, 28 November 2019
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ECB Forum on Central Banking 2019
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ECB Press Conference - 10 September 2020
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Christine Lagarde's Keynote Speech - European Banking Congress 2019
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