I have had the very great privilege to know and work closely with five of the Bundesbank’s Presidents – Karl-Otto Pöhl, Helmut Schlesinger, Hans Tietmeyer, Ernst Welteke and Axel Weber – and with Board members, in particular Otmar Issing and Jürgen Stark at both the Bundesbank and the ECB, as well as with the many excellent professionals committed to fulfilling the mission of this important institution.
The clear objective of price stability and the independence from executive branches, however, only necessary conditions for the success of the Bundesbank as an institution. The additional and decisive condition has been the credibility it gained with the German people and with global financial markets. Credibility is not something that can be installed by decree, it has to be earned.