Decisions taken by the Governing Council of the ECB (in addition to decisions setting interest rates)

Decisions taken by the Governing Council of the ECB (in addition to decisions setting interest rates)April 20264 May 2026External communicationECB Annual Report 2025On 17 April 2026 the Governing Council adopted the ECB’s Annual Report 2025, which was presented to the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament and made available on the ECB’s website on 4 May 2026, in 23 of the official languages of the European Union.Market operationsAmending Decision on the remuneration of holdings of excess reserves and of certain depositsOn 26 March 2026 the Governing Council adopted Decision ECB/2026/10 amending Decision (EU) 2019/1743 on the remuneration of holdings of excess reserves and of certain deposits (ECB/2019/31). The amending Decision legally implements the policy decision taken by the Governing Council on 11 December 2025 to simplify the remuneration of excess reserves (reserve holdings that exceed the amount of minimum reserves required in accordance with Regulation ECB/2021/1) held by eligible monetary policy counterparties in their reserve accounts at the relevant NCBs. Excess reserves, irrespective of whether or not they are actually deposited in the deposit facility or in the eligible monetary policy counterparties’ reserve accounts, will be remunerated at the same rate, namely at the deposit facility rate. The new remuneration will apply as of 17 June 2026 (i.e. the start of the fourth maintenance period for 2026). Macroprudential policy and financial stabilityReport of the High-level task force on non-bank financial intermediationOn 26 March 2026 the Governing Council took note of the report on non-bank financial intermediation for publication on the ECB’s website. The report, prepared by a high-level task force under the aegis of the Financial Stability Committee, sets out proposals to enhance the policy framework for non-bank financial intermediation from a macroprudential perspective, with a particular focus on asset management. The report, which will be available shortly on the ECB’s website, expands on the Eurosystem response to the European Commission’s consultation on macroprudential policies for non-bank financial intermediation, published in November 2024. ECB report on financial integration and structures in the euro areaOn 9 April 2026 the Governing Council approved the report on financial integration and structures in the euro area. The report presents key structural developments such as the process of financial integration, changes in financial structures and the process of financial development and modernisation. It also discusses selected financial sector policies, notably policies related to Europe’s banking union, capital markets union and savings and investments union, and thereby contributes to the debate on how European Economic and Monetary Union can be deepened. The report will be published on the ECB’s website on 7 May 2026 on the occasion of a joint ECB/European Commission conference.Eurosystem response to the European Commission consultation on the competitiveness of the EU banking sector On 14 April 2026 the ECB published the Eurosystem response to the European Commission consultation on the competitiveness of the EU banking sector approved by the Governing Council, together with a press release summarising its key elements and highlighting the key concrete changes to EU banking rules the Governing Council is calling for. Assessment of the systemic importance of other systemically important institutions from a banking union perspectiveOn 23 April 2026 the Governing Council took note of the December 2024 assessment of the systemic importance of other systemically important institutions from a banking union perspective. The report is available on the ECB’s website, in line with the Governing Council announcement of December 2024.Market infrastructure and paymentsEurosystem comprehensive payments strategy On 31 March 2026 the ECB published a comprehensive payments strategy, approved by the Governing Council, together with a related press release. The strategy takes a cohesive and forward-looking approach to the further development of an innovative and competitive European payments market across wholesale, business-to-business, retail and cross-border payments. It takes into account developments over recent years, in particular the ever-faster adoption of new technologies, and, relatedly, the need to preserve the role of central bank money to ensure trust and stability in an increasingly digital economy. The Eurosystem will actively monitor developments and adapt its strategy as and when needed. Mandate of the Appia Steering GroupOn 9 April 2026 the Governing Council approved the mandate of the Appia Steering Group, which oversees the consistency of the strategic direction of the tokenised wholesale Central Bank Money programme that encompasses the Pontes and Appia projects. Agreements with standard-setting bodies on standards for digital euro online paymentsOn 9 April 2026 the Governing Council approved the first three participation agreements between the ECB and relevant standardisation bodies in respect of governing standards to be adopted for digital euro online payments, namely CPACE, nexo and Berlin Group standards. The standards, which are to be used for front-end processing of digital euro online payment transactions, were selected together with market participants and reported on in the recent digital euro scheme’s Rulebook Development Group work update. More detailed information is available in a press release published on the ECB’s website. Agreements on roles and responsibilities for the digital euro pilotOn 10 April 2026 the Governing Council approved an Agreement setting out the respective roles and responsibilities of the ECB and the participating national central banks during the digital euro pilot as well as providing a template Participation Agreement for payment services providers interested in being involved in the pilot. These steps follow the October 2025 Governing Council decision to proceed to the next phase of the digital euro project. The pilot itself is to start in the second half of 2027 and serves to prepare the market and the Eurosystem for a potential first launch. Comprehensive information on the digital euro project is available on the dedicated section of the ECB’s website. Advice on legislationECB Opinion on an increase in a tax imposed on credit institutionsOn 30 March 2026 the Governing Council adopted Opinion CON/2026/11 at the request of the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance and Pensions, in charge of the National Lottery and the Federal Cultural Institutions.ECB Opinion on the composition of the Council of Latvijas BankaOn 31 March 2026 the Governing Council adopted Opinion CON/2026/12 at the request of the Budget and Finance (Taxation) Committee of the Latvian Parliament.ECB Opinion on proposals as regards the further development of capital market integration and supervision within the UnionOn 9 April 2026 the Governing Council adopted Opinion CON/2026/13 at the request of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union.ECB Opinion on the obligation to accept cash payments and the obligation of credit institutions to provide cash servicesOn 16 April 2026 the Governing Council adopted Opinion CON/2026/14 on its own initiative.ECB Opinion on the remuneration of client funds held in current accounts with credit institutionsOn 21 April 2026 the Governing Council adopted Opinion CON/2026/15 at the request of the Office of the President of Lithuania.Corporate governanceAppointment of a new member of the Market Infrastructure BoardOn 1 April 2026 the Governing Council appointed Elie Lewi, incoming Deputy Director General for Financial Stability and Operations of the Banque de France, as the Banque de France member of the Market Infrastructure Board, with immediate effect until 31 May 2026. For the following Market Infrastructure Board term of office, from 1 June 2026 to 31 May 2029, a separate Governing Council decision is expected to be taken in May 2026. Schedules for the meetings of the ECB’s Governing Council and General Council in 2027 and 2028On 24 April 2026 the ECB published the schedules for the 2027 and 2028 meetings of the Governing Council and the General Council, following approval of their respective parts by the two decision-making bodies. The combined timetable is available on the ECB’s website.StatisticsAmending ECB Guideline concerning statistics on holdings of securitiesOn 20 March 2026 the Governing Council adopted a Guideline amending Guideline ECB/2013/7 concerning statistics on holdings of securities (ECB/2026/9). The update addresses the increasing demands by users for statistical information on securities holdings, and it leverages on data already available at the national central bank level. The most significant change relates to the transmission of individual investor-level data for the main financial sectors (e.g. monetary financial institutions and investment funds) from the national central banks to the ECB at higher frequency and shorter timeliness. A number of reporting requirements of the existing Guideline that had become obsolete have been removed as part of this update. The amending Guideline is available on EUR-Lex. Annual update of the list of group data reporting agents for securities holdings statistics On 26 March 2026 the Governing Council approved the updated list of group data reporting agents concerning statistics on holdings of securities. Since 2016 the list has been updated at least once a year on the basis of the quantitative and qualitative criteria set out in Article 2(4) of Regulation ECB/2012/24. Entities affected by the changes were notified by the relevant national central bank within ten working days following the date of the Governing Council’s decision pursuant to Article 8(2) of Guideline ECB/2013/7 (new reporting agents) and