ifo Viewpoint
Central Bank Swerving from Its Path
Clemens Fuest, Hans Peter Grüner, Volker Wieland
ifo Institut, München, 2021
ifo Viewpoint No. 224
ifo Institut, München, 2021
ifo Viewpoint No. 224
The Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB) wants to make monetary policy “greener.” Hardly a week goes by without the topic being promoted by one of the board members. In addition to the visible effort to make the traditionally dry seeming monetary policy appear practically helpful and close to the people, the ECB’s activities in the matter itself amount to a further significant expansion of its competencies. This involves, first, independently assessing the environmental friendliness of projects financed by corporate bonds; and second, giving preference to positively rated projects in various securities transactions.