Berlin – It was a highly anticipated gig. The markets looked spellbound in the direction of Frankfurt on Thursday. The Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) met there. Usually, the presentation of the monetary policy strategy is an appointment that is of particular interest to a specialist audience. But this time it wasn’t like that. Because the ECB has repositioned itself. Some observers are already talking about a “historic” change of course – even if nothing changes in current monetary policy for the time being.
When Central Bank President Christine Lagarde appeared in front of the press that afternoon, it was already clear that the loose monetary policy would remain. The key interest rate will remain at the record low of zero percent, and the Corona emergency program will continue unchanged – until at least the end of March 2022. At the same time, banks will have to pay a penalty rate of 0.5 percent if they park excess funds with the ECB. “The economic recovery in the euro area is on track,” said ECB President Lagarde. “But the pandemic continues to cast a shadow, especially since the delta variant is a growing source of uncertainty.” Loosely translated this means: The ECB continues to drive on sight – and does not want to tighten the reins of monetary policy too early. So everything as usual?
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