The effectiveness of monetary policy greatly depends on the operations agreed for this purpose being conducted in a timely and confidential manner. For all operations performed with non-capital instruments, Article 1 (6) MiFIR therefore requires members of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) to obtain an explicit exemption from the obligation to publish trade data when implementing monetary policy in line with their statutory powers. 

For further information, please refer to Bundesbank Circular No 53/2017.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has spoken out in favour of making the rules on debt more binding. "It would be helpful for the rules of the Stability Pact to be simplified," he said in a speech delivered in Freiburg. Furthermore, Mr Weidmann added, a more rigorous interpretation of the rules could be achieved by giving responsibility for fiscal surveillance to an independent authority instead of the European Commission.

In its Annual Economic Report, the Bank for International Settlements calls for structural reforms, fiscal policy and macroprudential measures to play a greater role in ensuring sustainable growth. The report states that “monetary policy cannot be the engine of economic growth”.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann says that non-standard monetary policy measures can have a variety of effects on income and wealth distribution. “Much like conventional interest rate policy, the non-standard measures are more likely to have reduced income inequality,” he said in a speech in Hamburg.