European Central Bank to publish account of meetings

The European Central Bank will reveal some of the details of what is likely to be a heated debate on whether to buy government bonds, after rate-setters said they will begin publishing accounts of their monetary policy deliberations from January.

The ECB’s move, which brings it more into line with other central banks, comes at a crucial time for its governing council, which is expected to embark on full-scale quantitative easing early in 2015.

The first accounts will appear in mid-February, four weeks after the meeting on January 22, when many expect a decision on buying eurozone government bonds.

While members of the ECB’s executive board, including Mario Draghi, president, believe there is a strong consensus in support of quantitative easing, opposition from some quarters remains strong.

Jens Weidmann, the hawkish Bundesbank president, this week said he would reject bond buying even if prices started to fall. Eurozone inflation fell to 0.3 per cent in November, less than a fifth of the ECB’s target of below but close to 2 per cent.

The ECB hopes the publication of an account will provide more information about the arguments of those who are in favour and against policy actions. At present, Mr Draghi is tasked with presenting the view supported by most of the committee members at the press conference which follows every policy decision.

The council will set policy every six weeks from January, replacing its traditional monthly cycle.

The ECB has lagged behind other central banks in divulging details of its monetary policy votes, with policy makers claiming in the past that doing so would leave them open to political pressure.

Richard Barwell, an economist at Royal Bank of Scotland, applauded the move but said the eurozone central bank should now go a step further and detail what policy makers intend to do in the years ahead.

“Publishing an official account of the rationale behind current policy stance is a welcome positive step, but in an ideal world the accounts would go further and describe how the stance of policy could evolve in the future,” Mr Barwell said.

Some central banks, such as Sweden’s Riksbank, publish forecasts for what they expect will happen to monetary policy over time.

Unlike the Bank of England, the US Federal Reserve or the Bank of Japan, the ECB will keep the public in the dark about how the 25 members of the council voted.

While the ECB considered the possibility of attaching names to votes, some members feared doing so would affect the openness of the discussion and expose governors from the national central banks to pressure from their governments.

In contrast to policy committees at other central banks, the ECB council often does not vote, reaching decisions mostly by consensus. The accounts will give some indication of the strength of support for decisions.

The ECB said on Thursday that the accounts would feature an overview of financial and economic developments, followed by a summary of the policy discussion.

“The aim is to . . . enable members of the public to improve their understanding of the governing council’s assessment of the economy and its policy responses in the light of evolving conditions,” the ECB said.