Finally, in order to support the bank-based transmission of monetary policy, a two-tier system for reserve remuneration was announced, such that part of banks’ holdings of excess liquidity will be exempt from the negative deposit facility rate. These decisions aim to counter the worsening growth and inflation outlook by means of a package of measures that complement one another, easing financial conditions by a different route. Thus, the cut in the interest rate on the deposit facility will have a moderating effect on yields at the short end of the different yield curves, which extends to the interest rate term structure as a whole, thus reducing the cost of borrowing for households and for firms. This effect is reinforced by the changes introduced in the forward guidance on interest rates, which closely links the potential normalisation of interest rates to a robust convergence of the inflation outlook to a level “sufficiently close to, but below, 2%”. Moreover, such convergence should have been reflected, as mentioned earlier, in actual inflation dynamics. This forward guidance on interest rates and the resumption of net asset purchases seek to have an impact on the medium and longer-dated segments of the yield curve, mainly through interest rate expectations in the case of forward guidance, and term and risk premia in the case of asset purchases.
Statistical data is used in various negotiations. There are many examples. Wage bargaining is strongly affected by the evolution of prices. So-called “inflation clauses” form part of many agreements, for example rental contracts. Statistical data also serve as a basis for the decisions of various authorities. Central banks are a specific category. They significantly affect the economic environment. To be able to perform their duties properly, central banks need high-quality statistical information. “Nothing is more important for monetary policy than good statistics”. This is how Alexander Lamfalussy, the former President of the European Monetary Institute, the predecessor of the European Central Bank, characterised the importance of statistics for successful monetary policymaking. This year marks the fifteenth anniversary on the path of transformation from a centrally controlled economy to a market economy. All areas of our life underwent dramatic changes, statistics being no exception. In the early 1990s, the Czech National Bank worked in close co-operation with the International Monetary Fund. Individual missions visited us several times a year. Statistics was one of the first areas in which such co-operation was established. This is entirely logical, since without the creation of a basic statistical framework it would not have been possible to communicate on monetary policy matters. Among the most important outcomes was a creation of monetary survey. This survey made it possible to compile monetary and credit aggregates. One of the preconditions for influencing the money supply was to establish what is known as the “monetary base”.