(As you may recall, the ECB policy rates have remained unchanged since June 2007.) Rather, the money market operations are intended to safeguard financial stability and ensure, through the orderly functioning of the interbank  2  BIS Review 45/2008  money market, that the Governing Council’s interest rate decisions are transmitted to the financial markets and the real economy.
The economic outlook and policy challenges The economic outlook for the euro area is surrounded by an unusual degree of uncertainty. The financial market turmoil is likely to last for some time and its impact on the real economy is difficult to assess at this time.