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 23 January 2020.
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- Press release
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24 January 2020 BANKNOTES

The euro: a safe and trusted means of payment

The number of counterfeit euro banknotes withdrawn from circulation remained low in the second half of 2019, and the quality of some of the counterfeits has decreased. While you are very unlikely to receive a fake, it is important to always check your banknotes using the “feel, look and tilt” method.

23 January 2020 MONETARY POLICY

ECB launches strategic review

The review of the ECB’s monetary policy strategy will be guided by two principles: thorough analysis and open minds, and the Eurosystem will engage with all stakeholders throughout the process.

The review is expected to be concluded by the end of the year.

Press release
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24/01/2020: Decisions taken by the Governing Council of the ECB (in addition to decisions setting interest rates)
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24/01/2020: Results of the Q1 2020 ECB Survey of Professional Forecasters
English
24/01/2020: Euro banknote counterfeiting remained low in the second half of 2019
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23/01/2020: ECB launches review of its monetary policy strategy
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23/01/2020: Monetary policy decisions
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All press releases

23/01/2020: Christine Lagarde: How can a united Europe meet the challenges it faces today?
Opening remarks by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, during a dinner on "Uniting Europe" at the World Economic Forum
English
23/01/2020: 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, 23 January 2020
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16/01/2020: Christine Lagarde: Frankfurt and Europe in a new decade
Speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the New Year’s Reception of the City of Frankfurt, 16 January 2020
English
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DeutschDE
09/01/2020: Isabel Schnabel: Mehr Europa für eine stabile gemeinsame Währung
Vortrag von Isabel Schnabel, Mitglied des Direktoriums der EZB, beim Rotary Club Mainz-Rheinhessen, Mainz, 9 Januar 2020
Deutsch
09/01/2020: Philip R. Lane: Policy Frameworks and Strategies for an Open Economy
Presentation by Philip R. Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the Bank of England Workshop on "The Future of Inflation Targeting" in London, 9 January 2020
English

All speeches

24/01/2020: Christine Lagarde: Interview with Bloomberg TV
Interview with Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, conducted by Francine Lacqua and broadcast on 24 January
English
24/01/2020: Christine Lagarde: Entretien avec France 2
Entretien de Christine Lagarde, Présidente de la BCE, accordé à Jean-Paul Chapel
Français
08/01/2020: Christine Lagarde: Interview with “Challenges” magazine
Interview with Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, by Pierre-Henri de Menthon and Sabine Syfuss-Arnaud
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FrançaisFR
16/12/2019: Benoît Cœuré: Interview with Libération
Interview with Benoît Cœuré, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Jean Quatremer on 4 December, and published on 16 December 2019
English
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FrançaisFR
16/12/2019: Christine Lagarde: Interview with NOS Nieuwsuur
Transcript of the interview with Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, conducted by Mariëlle Tweebeeke, NOS Nieuwsuur, on 12 December 2019 and broadcast (in part) on 12 December 2019
English
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NederlandsNL

All interviews

24/01/2020: Letter from the ECB President to Mr Marco Zanni, Ms Francesca Donato, Mr Valentino Grant and Mr Antonio Maria Rinaldi, MEPs, on monetary policy
English
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ItalianoIT
24/01/2020: Letter from the ECB President to Mr Giorgos Georgiou, MEP, on access to cash
English
24/01/2020: Letter from the ECB President to Ms Eva Kaili, MEP, on payment services
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EλληνικάEL
24/01/2020: Working paper no. 2367: Lifting the banking veil: credit standards’ harmonization through lending transparency
English
24/01/2020: The ECB Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF) – First quarter of 2020
ENGLISH
21/01/2020: The euro area bank lending survey – Fourth quarter of 2019
ENGLISH
15/01/2020: Working paper no. 2366: Restructuring sovereign bonds: holdouts, haircuts and the effectiveness of CACs
English
14/01/2020: Working paper no. 2365: A cointegration model of money and wealth
English
14/01/2020: Working paper no. 2364: The impact of the ECB’s targeted long-term refinancing operations on banks’ lending policies: the role of competition
English
13/01/2020: Working paper no. 2363: The long-run information effect of central bank communication
English

All publications

21/01/2020: Recommendation of the ECB of 17 January 2020 on dividend distribution policies (ECB/2020/1)
ENGLISH
14/01/2020: Opinion on the recovery and resolution of central counterparties (CON/2020/3)
Germany,
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DeutschDE
08/01/2020: Opinion on measures limiting macroprudential risks in residential property loans (CON/2020/1)
Germany,
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DeutschDE
07/01/2020: Opinion on national defence (CON/2020/2)
Estonia,
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Eesti keelET
30/12/2019: Opinion on limitations to cash payments (CON/2019/46)
The Netherlands,
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NederlandsNL

All legal acts

21 January 2020 PUBLICATION

January 2020 bank lending survey results

Credit standards for loans to firms and housing loans remained broadly unchanged in Q4 2019, the latest euro area bank lending survey shows. Demand for loans to firms went down while demand for housing loans increased further. Euro area banks also reported using TLTRO-III liquidity largely for granting loans.

Bank lending survey

INSERTED BY ANOMYOUS PROXY

Civil war declaration

On April 14th and 15th, 2012 Federal Republic of Germany "_urkenstaats"s parliament, Deutscher Bundestag, received a antifiscal written civil war declaration by Federal Republic of Germany "Rechtsstaat"s electronic resistance for human rights even though the "Widerstandsfall" according to article 20 paragraph 4 of the constitution, the "Grundgesetz", had been already declared in the years 2001-03.

PODCAST

Supervising banks: profits, transparency and Brexit

Why do we need banking supervision at the European level? What are the supervisory challenges posed by Brexit? Our host Michael Steen talks about these questions and more with Andrea Enria, Pien van Erp Taalman Kip and Linette Field. Listen, subscribe and let us know what you think!

The ECB Podcast

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	1.1035
JPY	Japanese yen	120.96
GBP	Pound sterling	0.84313
CHF	Swiss franc	1.0712

Last update: Friday, 24 January 2020 Euro foreign exchange rates

Financial stability

Market operations

Multimedia

Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, signing the euro banknotes, 28 November 2019
ECB Governing Council Press Conference - 12 December 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