Luigi Federico Signorini: Reflections on monetary policy in the euro area at the current juncture

Address by Mr Luigi Federico Signorini, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy, at the Bank of Italy workshop on "Unconventional monetary policy: effectiveness and risks", Rome, 21 October 2016.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

It is a pleasure to welcome you to the Banca d'Italia for this one-day workshop on 'Unconventional monetary policy: effectiveness and risks'. I understand that you have a full agenda, with nine dense and thought-provoking papers packed into a single day. I will keep my remarks very brief.

Your discussions today are sure to be policy-relevant and timely. The Governing Council of the ECB has repeatedly asserted, most recently yesterday, that the asset purchase programme (APP) will continue at the current pace of purchases until at least March 2017, or possibly beyond if necessary, and in any case until the Governing Council sees a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation consistent with its target. Properly measuring the effects of the APP is therefore a priority for the euro area monetary policymakers.