Decisions taken by the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (in addition to decisions setting interest rates)
These are the last decisions taken by the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECF) (in addition to decisions setting interest rates)
Monetary policy
Non-standard monetary policy measures
On 14 June 2018 the Governing Council decided that net purchases under the asset purchase programme (APP) would continue at the current monthly pace of €30 billion until the end of September 2018 and announced that it anticipated that, after that date – and subject to incoming data confirming the Governing Council’s medium-term inflation outlook – the monthly pace of net asset purchases would be reduced to €15 billion until the end of December 2018, and that net purchases would then end. The Governing Council also announced its intention to maintain its policy of reinvesting the principal payments from maturing securities purchased under the APP for an extended period of time after the end of the net asset purchases, and in any case for as long as necessary to maintain favourable liquidity conditions and an ample degree of monetary accommodation. More detailed information on the background to these decisions can be found in the introductory statement available on the ECB’s website and in the press release published on that day.
Market operations
Methodology for calculating the euro short-term rate (ESTER)
On 25 June 2018 the Governing Council approved the methodology for calculating the euro short-term rate (ESTER) – the overnight unsecured rate based entirely on money market statistical reporting (MMSR) – publication of which will begin by October 2019. The Governing Council also decided to release, before then, historical daily rate, volume and dispersion data based on the main methodological features of ESTER. The methodology and a related press release are available on the ECB’s website.
Financial stability and supervision
Eurosystem response to ESMA consultation on securitisation transparency requirements
On 18 May 2018 the Governing Council approved the Eurosystem’s response to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) consultation on application requirements for securitisation repositories. The Eurosystem’s response expresses support for ESMA’s goals of transparency in the securitisation market and a pivotal role for securitisation repositories in fostering transparency as collectors and centralisers of data. The Eurosystem’s response to the ESMA consultation is available on the ECB’s website.
Market infrastructure and payments
Updated Eurosystem assessment methodology for payment systems
On 7 June 2018 the Governing Council approved an updated version of the Eurosystem assessment methodology for payment systems and authorised its publication on the ECB’s website. The methodology initially approved in 2014 has been updated to take into account the requirements introduced by the revised ECB Regulation on oversight requirements for systemically important payment systems (or “SIPS Regulation”) which entered into force in December 2017. It also includes references to the Eurosystem’s Cyber Resilience Oversight Expectations, which are based on the CPMI-IOSCO Guidance on cyber resilience for financial market infrastructures published in June 2016. The updated methodology is available on the ECB’s website.
Amended TARGET2-Securities pricing policy
On 21 June 2018 the Governing Council approved a change to the TARGET2-Securities (T2S) pricing policy whereby the settlement fee for a delivery versus payment (DvP) instruction will increase from 15 euro cents to 23.5 euro cents as from 1 January 2019. This adjustment reflects the current T2S revenue and costs position, in particular the extension of the cost-recovery period, updated projections on growth in volumes and evolution of operational costs, and additional costs related to enhancing T2S’s cyber resilience. As for the pricing structure approved in 2010 and the fees for information services, these remain unchanged.
