iv. new communication strategy as you know, two important decisions were made at the last governing council : the frequency of monetary policy meetings will change to a six - week cycle ; and starting in january 2015, the ecb intends to publish accounts of its monetary policy discussions. why these decisions and why now? the starting point is that monetary policy is becoming more complex. this is true for all major central banks. monetary policy does not only consist anymore in moving interest rates, but also comprises many other non - conventional measures. this makes it more difficult for markets and economic agents to understand the economic rationale behind these complicated sets of decisions. still it remains crucial for central banks to be able to influence expectations. indeed, one form of non conventional policy, namely, forward guidance, depends entirely on managing expectations about future interest rates. there are, therefore, important challenges in implementing monetary policy in the post - crisis environment. the response is to place more emphasis on enhanced communication. as you know, the eurosystem has always put a priority on transparency. we were the first to systematically organise press conferences after our policy meetings. however, we need to go further and ensure that markets understand the reasoning behind the governing council ’ s decisions. to that purpose, we should give a sense of the discussion and the main arguments. in the jargon, the aim is to clarify the central bank ’ s “ reaction function ” and allow financial markets and the public to form reasonable expectations about the future policy. this in turn gives us the capacity to influence interest rates at longer maturities and steer broader financial and economic conditions. it is too early to tell exactly how those “ accounts ” will take shape. the governing council and the executive board of the ecb will be testing different possibilities. many issues have to be considered. we need to preserve the collegiality of the governing council ’ s deliberations, and the ability of each and every member to freely express and exchange views, in order to let them be influenced by the course of discussions. this is essential for the effectiveness of our collegiate decision - making. like any committee, the governing council benefits from the diversity of views and perspectives that are brought to the table. as you all know, members sit and express their views in a personal capacity ; they must consider the situation of the euro area as a whole and are forbidden by the treaty to take any instruction from any government. we need to take proper account of the specific institutional setting of the euro area

. monetary policy ladies and gentlemen, let me turn to my last subject, that of monetary policy. 8. the mpc ’ s ultimate mandate is to safeguard the macroeconomic and financial stability of the country. in the last few years, the bank of thailand has maintained an accommodative monetary policy stance. mindful of imminent downside risks to growth, the policy rate was cut three times in the mpc meetings of may and november 2013, and again in march 2014. in these three meetings, the mpc were of the view that the reductions of policy interest rate were necessary to ensure sufficient support to the domestic economy. the current real policy interest rate, which is now in a negative territory, aims to help alleviate the financial burden on households and corporations, allowing them to withstand short - term shocks. 9. however, as the current policy interest rate is already low, further easing would not be without concerns. in the last meeting in april 2014, the mpc decided to maintain the policy at 2. 00 percent. the rationales behind this decision were that the current monetary policy stance was accommodative enough to support the economy as the prolonged political uncertainties were the main cause for risk to growth, not the financial conditions. meanwhile, room for further policy accommodation was diminishing, and any possible side effects of keeping the interest rate low for a protracted period, needed to be taken into account. 10. i would like to end my remarks by thanking you all again for your contributions to the thai economy and let me assure you that the bank of thailand will continue our works to ensure a stable and resilient financial and economic environment, conducive to economic growth of the country. thank you very much. bis central bankers ’ speeches