ECB decide on whether to publish minutes

ECB decide on whether to publish minutes

The European Central Bank is deciding on whether to publish the minutes of its monetary policy meetings. If the decision is positive, the ECB will be more in line with banking regulations in the U.S, UK and Japan.

Previously the ECB has not divulged the voting record of individual governing council members in order to maintain confidentiality and prevent national interests affecting executive board members’ decisions.

The ECB presents a monthly press conference which it stated was a satisfactory display of the governing council’s debates.

However, the bank has been accused of lacking transparency in its actions, particularly regarding its refusal to reveal minutes like its counterparts the Federal Reserve, Bank of England and Bank of Japan.

Details of the publication of minutes from the ECB’s monetary policy meetings was expected to be released at the end of 2013, but the schedule has now been extended. The governing council members are still discussing how to manage the policy proposal, which is the foundation of the monetary policy meeting. It is thought that the publication could now be seen in the summer of this year.