Pablo Hernández de Cos: The European Central Bank's monetary policy - response to the pandemic crisis and future challenges

Speech by Mr Pablo Hernández de Cos, Governor of the Bank of Spain and Chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 3 March 2021.

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

Distinguished Rector, fellows, ladies and gentlemen, good morning:

It is a great pleasure for me to be able to participate in this event organised by the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.

First, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you some thoughts on the role that the European Central Bank's (ECB) monetary policy has played in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the past year, helping to stave off some of the more serious consequences, at least from the economic standpoint, of the different waves of the disease in Europe.

Second, I shall give a brief overview of current economic developments in the euro area and the role that monetary policy could play over the coming quarters.

In the third part of my speech, I would also like to reflect on some of the medium and long-term challenges for monetary policy in advanced economies, which have prompted the main central banks, among them the ECB, to launch a review of their monetary policy strategy.