In particular, we will have to see the rate of unemployment, currently 7.8%, fall at least to a threshold of 7% before even beginning to consider whether to raise Bank Rate. Second, we are building confidence in banks so they can serve the needs of the real economy by providing credit to those who can put it to work. In particular, we have required banks to repair their balance sheets so that their capital ratios at least reach a threshold of 7% by the turn of the year. Crossing these two 7% thresholds is necessary to ensure that our economy can withstand the inevitable bumps along the road to full recovery. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  We must meet the thresholds in a disciplined way. We will ensure that we bring inflation down as the recovery progresses. And we will use our considerable policy tools to prevent new vulnerabilities, whether in the housing sector or financial sector, from arising during this critical transition period. Today I want to say more about how the Bank will help bring the British economy over the threshold into a sustainable recovery and what that means for you. Guidance about monetary policy Three weeks ago the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) did something it has never done before: we gave clear, quantitative guidance about the future path of monetary policy.
Benoît Cœuré: Interview in the Leading European Newspaper Alliance – LENA Interview with Mr Benoît Cœuré, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, in the Leading European Newspaper Alliance – LENA, conducted by Mr Dominique Berns (Le Soir), Ms Anja Ettel (Die Welt) and Ms Manon Malhère (Le Figaro), and published on 11 November 2015. *  *  *  How many bankers have you met this week? You’ll have an answer next February, when we will begin publishing the meeting calendars of the members of the ECB’s Executive Board on a regular basis. This will give you access to the list of my meetings in November 2015. The decision to regularly publish the meeting calendars of the Executive Board members follows on from other initiatives that aim to make the ECB more transparent, in particular publishing the accounts of monetary policy discussions and the new, clearer guidelines on public speaking engagements. Regarding the meeting calendars, weren’t you pushed into publishing them by the media, to some extent? No, we were already considering doing it. It was a natural decision for us because it reflects current standards for large public institutions, in particular the European Commission. If publishing our meeting calendars enables us to avoid misunderstandings, so much the better – it shows that it is a useful thing to do. Public debate thus enables us to improve how we operate.