To be a useful forecasting device, we need to identify a set of characteristics that is nearly always present in all countries that are about to experience an economic crisis. A number of economic studies have set out to do this, and have found a few useful regularities, but not much more.
From the start, due also to its unique institutional set-up, the ECB has strived to be transparent. For instance, we were the first major central bank to hold a regular press conference immediately after our policy meetings. The ECB also regularly publishes a variety of data on the execution of its monetary policy operations and the liquidity conditions of the Eurosystem.