Daniele Franco: The effectiveness of monetary policy in a low interest rate environment

Welcome address by Mr Daniele Franco, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy, at the Bank of Italy and SUERF workshop "The effectiveness of monetary policy in a low interest rate environment", Rome, 18 November 2020.

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

Central bank speech  | 
19 November 2020

I am happy to welcome you all to the Banca d'Italia and SUERF's joint Workshop on 'The effectiveness of monetary policy in a low interest rate environment'.

As you may know, we had scheduled this workshop to take place in June, but we had to postpone it, because of the pandemic. We also had to move to a virtual setting and rely on video connections.

The workshop addresses issues that are now at the top of policymakers' agendas around the world. The pandemic has led to the worst recession in recent history, and the scars that it will leave on the global economy are likely to prolong the low interest rate environment. Monetary policy is playing a key role in supporting the recovery and its contribution will remain fundamental in the coming years. The discussion on strategies, targets and tools remains open.

Today and tomorrow, we will have the opportunity to embark on a wide-ranging debate on the challenges ahead. In my remarks today, I will touch upon a few of them.