Today, I would like to explore why we are sometimes uncomfortable with certain developments in the finance industry that are labeled “innovation” by their promoters, and consider policy implications for central banks, with a view to encouraging innovation that would benefit the whole society. Fifteen minutes will not be enough to arrive at definitive conclusions, but let me give it a try. II.
Monetary policy decisions and the outlook for price stability In December 1998 the Governing Council of the ECB announced that the level of interest on the main refinancing operation at the beginning of Monetary Union in January 1999 would be 3%. In the first quarter of 1999 the Governing Council kept this rate unchanged.