adopting a symmetrical target helps to shape expectations for future levels of policy and inflation rates. the prevailing perception was that the ecb was pursuing a tighter monetary policy on upward deviations of inflation from the target, while, on the contrary, it was reacting with timid steps and delaying downward deviations. in the current strategy, we emphasize that both the continuous rise and the prolonged fall of prices must be limited immediately and as much as possible. we also recognize in the new strategy that when the economy operates close to the nominal interest rate threshold, particularly strong or persistent use of monetary policy measures is required to prevent the consolidation of negative deviations from the inflation target. this may also mean a transitional period in which inflation is moderately above the 2 % target. therefore, although it is confirmed that interest rate policy is still the primary instrument of monetary policy, additional monetary policy tools are used by the ecb when necessary. such tools are indications of the future direction of monetary policy, asset markets and longer - term refinancing operations. in previous crises, but also during the pandemic period, the ecb resorted to extraordinary, less conventional, measures, as monetary policy interest rates had reached historically low levels. let me remind you that the current ecb interest rate levels have been zero since march 2016 for major refinancing operations and from june 2014 negative levels for deposits held by credit institutions with national central banks. the combination of measures taken was particularly successful, as they played a key role in increasing inflation and economic growth, from the very low levels that had been formed. these measures continue to be implemented to date in order to boost economic growth and support the stabilization of inflation at levels consistent with the target. in addition, they manage to maintain smooth financial conditions for all euro area economies, secure favorable financing terms and safeguard the flow of credit to every sector of the economy. during the pandemic, eurosystem securities under the pandemic emergency purchase program ( pepp ) played a key role in alleviating financial turmoil and boosting monetary easing. this program was mobilized immediately after the outbreak of the pandemic and, as announced on december 10, 2020, the net monthly purchases will last at least until march 2022 and in any case until we judge that the crisis of the pandemic is over. it is considered very effective in holding back the rise, due to high uncertainty, government bond yields and 2 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches discrepancies

drawn to the idea of issuing a fast, efficient, digital currency that does not carry the cost of securing, distributing and processing physical banknotes and coins and that can be tracked in real time as it moves through the financial system. the development of dlt in recent years now provides the possibility of a supplement to physical cash in the form of central bank digital currencies. the bank of england was among the first central banks to take notice of the feasibility of a central bank digital currency, and other monetary authorities have since followed7. cbdc is a potential new form of digital central bank money. in the current banking system, only commercial banks hold digital money in deposit at the central bank, i. e. reserves. by introducing an universally accessible cbdc, every household and business would be enabled to hold direct claims against the central bank. in practice, the central bank would guarantee free convertibility at par ( i. e. 1 : 1 ). this practice would make the digital currency a secure store of value, incentivizing individuals and businesses to hold the cbdc. one major issue, however, is whether the cbdc should be an interest bearing asset or not. 3 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches there are two cases : a ) cbdc pays no interest, just like paper currency. in this case, households and companies would be incentivized to hold most of their liquid funds in interest bearing deposit accounts at commercial banks, keeping the use of the digital currency fairly modest. however, this form of digital currency would constrain the ability of central banks to push interest rates below zero during periods of weak aggregate demand and deflation because depositors would swiftly move their funds into digital currency paying zero interest. thus, the effective zero lower bound on interest rates would become a more binding constraint for monetary policy. b ) cbdc is introduced as an interest bearing currency. in this case, the central bank would pay interest for digital currency accounts held at the central bank by individuals, companies and banks, similar to the deposit facility for commercial banks. if the digital currency bears interest, it will likely affect the demand for physical cash out of circulation, at least to a large extent. in a recent working paper of bank of england, cbdc is defined as “ a central bank granting universal, electronic, 24x7, national - currency - denominated and interest - bearing access to its balance sheet ” 8. furthermore, with an interest bearing cbdc, still