Monetary policy operations Ladies and gentlemen, once the Governing Council has defined the monetary policy stance necessary for maintaining price stability in the medium term, the ECB has the responsibility to ensure the smooth functioning of the segment of the money market that we influence. As I explained last month, these two responsibilities are clearly distinct and should not be mixed.
The ECB continued to intervene in the money market in order to ensure its smooth functioning. Some tensions indeed remained in the money markets, in particular for maturities beyond one week. These tensions were fostered by the increase in liquidity needs related to banks’ usual behaviour at the end of the quarter, when they need to adjust their balance sheets.