We will now report on the outcome of today’s meeting of the Governing Council. Based on our regular economic and monetary analyses, we decided to keep the key ECB interest rates unchanged. HICP inflation rates have declined further, as anticipated, and are expected to fall below 2% in the coming months. Over the policy-relevant horizon, inflationary pressures should remain contained.
Within the remit of the Central Bank’s responsibilities, the approach to mortgage arrears resolution is focused on ensuring the fair treatment of borrowers through a strong consumer protection framework, while ensuring that banks are sufficiently capitalised, hold sufficiently conservative provisions, and have the appropriate strategies and operational capacities to resolve arrears.