independence of the ecb in any way. we must be absolutely independent in our decision - making. but we do look at what is happening around us. how is the global economy doing? what is happening in europe? what are the financial markets doing? and we also look at the fiscal policy stance. we need to look at all of these things. do you think that in this respect it might even be helpful that you, like christine lagarde, have experience as a minister? some critics have bemoaned the lack of economic expertise and central bank experience. we see ourselves as a college – we each bring different experiences and backgrounds to the executive board and the governing council of the ecb. i myself was spanish finance minister during the worst phase of the sovereign debt crisis. i ’ m an economist and i know what problems the banking system can create for an economy. i know what the consequences are when a credit and housing market bubble bursts. i know that we need to complete banking union and that we need a capital markets union. i know that we need a central fiscal capacity in the euro area. each one of us brings our perspective and our experience to the table, and that enriches the decision - making process. on the subject of banking union, the german finance minister olaf scholz has now proposed a compromise solution for a common european deposit insurance scheme. what do you think of the proposal? will it help to break the deadlock surrounding this topic? this is a positive development, an important step forward on this debate. the ecb has always firmly emphasised the need to complete the banking union – where a european deposit insurance scheme is a key missing element. we need to make sure that a €1 deposit is just as safe, and just as valuable, wherever you are in the euro area. this would enhance confidence in our banking system. and that ’ s key to support the bank - based transmission of our monetary policy, essential for a solid and effective economic and monetary union. the ecb used to conduct its work in the background, but in recent years it has edged ever further into the political domain. it used to have a much more narrow focus on price stability, but it has been given a whole series of new responsibilities. critics think that it ’ s time to go back to a narrower definition of the mandate. 5 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches when president draghi said the famous words “ whatever it takes ” in 2012 … … when he

luis de guindos : interview with borsen - zeitung interview with mr luis de guindos, vice - president of the european central bank, and borsenzeitung, conducted by mr mark schrors and mr detlef fechtner on 5 november 2019 and published on 12 november 2019. * * * mr de guindos, how did you find your first days with the new president of the ecb, christine lagarde, who succeeded mario draghi at the start of november? they were great! we held some initial meetings and discussions which went really well for president lagarde and for us. our first governing council meeting chaired by her takes place this week. you sound very enthusiastic. president lagarde has vast experience and knows exactly which topics are the most crucial. she will undoubtedly be an excellent ecb president. the ecb president is new, but the same cannot be said for the economic environment, which inspires less enthusiasm. how worried are you about the euro area economy? for two years now, we have seen a persistent weakening of the economy and a slowdown in growth. in the third and fourth quarters, however, we now observe a stabilisation. a recession in the euro area is highly unlikely. the real threat at present is an extended phase of extremely low growth, below potential. does that mean you are basically more optimistic than you were recently? has this anything to do with the rapprochement between the united states and china in the trade dispute and the recent postponement of the brexit deadline? the news reports are more encouraging than they were two or three months ago. a no - deal brexit is off the table for now. there is some hope of an initial partial agreement in the us - china trade dispute, which at least suggests that it will not escalate any further. averting escalation would be good news in itself. so have the risks and uncertainties surrounding the economic outlook abated? let me put it this way : the risks are now slightly less tilted to the downside than they were before. and how do you view the outlook for inflation? have the risks decreased in that regard too? the latest development is precisely in line with our expectations. we expected that inflation would fall clearly below 1 % in september and october. inflation was 0. 7 % in october but is probably hovering around 1 % at the moment. the same applies to core inflation