maximum amount that the counterparties can borrow through these operations will be raised to €3, 000 billion. as a bridging measure, until june 2020 additional ltros will be conducted at favourable conditions and with full allotment of the amounts requested. alongside the asset purchase programme already under way, equal to €20 billion in monthly purchases, banca d ’ italia address by governor ordinary general meeting of shareholders a further €120 billion has been allocated for additional net purchases until the end of the year, with a significant contribution from the private sector purchase programmes. these measures were further reinforced at the meeting of 18 march last, when the governing council announced a new programme for the purchase of public - and private - sector securities amounting to €750 billion this year. this new pandemic emergency purchase programme ( pepp ) will continue until the end of 2020 but may be extended if the public health emergency continues. ample flexibility is envisaged for purchases of public - sector securities to enable, should market conditions require it, divergences with respect to the current allocations, both in respect of jurisdictions and asset classes. the range of eligible securities issued by private firms has been extended to include commercial paper of sufficient credit quality ; the eligibility criteria for collateral have been relaxed further, to facilitate recourse to refinancing by banks. within our mandate, we stand ready to increase the volume of purchases, adjust their composition and explore all possible options for supporting the economy in this acutely difficult phase. it was also decided to consider revising past self - imposed limits in carrying out these operations, to the extent necessary to make the interventions proportionate to the current risks ; any impediment that might hamper the effective transmission of monetary policy will not be tolerated. the balance sheet at the end of 2019, the bank of italy ’ s total assets amounted to €960 billion, a decrease of €8 billion compared with the year before. assets continued to consist mostly of securities purchased for monetary policy purposes, equal to €384 billion, of which around €320 billion made up of italian government securities. refinancing operations, totalling €220 billion, decreased by €24 billion owing to early repayments on tltro ii operations, only partly offset by amounts allotted under the new tltro iii operations. overall, monetary policy assets make up more than 60 per cent of the total balance sheet. the value of gold rose by almost €20

closing address delivered by mr. millison narh first deputy governor, bank of ghana at 2017 continental seminar of the association of african central banks ( aacb ) at movenick ambassador hotel on may 05, 2017 the executive secretary, aacb, colleague central bankers, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, introduction 1. i am delighted to be part of the 2017 continental seminar. i am reliably informed that the deliberations were very fruitful. 2. effective communication has now emerged as one of the most crucial and latest addition to the menu of monetary and financial stability policy tools at the disposal of central banks in our modern era. within the framework of inflation targeting and market based, prudential regulation of financial institutions, the need to have an effective, wellcoordinated and targeted communication strategy cannot be ignored by any central bank that wants to succeed in delivering the twin mandate of price and financial stability. 3. as was mentioned, the importance of having a carefully planned communication strategy is well captured in the statement by a deputy governor of the federal reserve bank of new zealand, that ‘ central bank ’ s pronouncements have economic and social impact. ’ 4. to this end my colleague, the second deputy governor of bank of ghana, challenged you to find answers to three important questions at this seminar : a. how should central banks manage communication in times of financial crisis? b. how does effective communication enhance central bank credibility and effectiveness of monetary policy and for maintaining stability in the financial sector? and c. what lessons should we learn from cross - country experiences in central bank communications strategies? 5. i hope the various expert presentations and the plenary sessions have helped you enhance your knowledge and understanding of these and other pertinent issues bordering on communication in the central bank. 6. some of the key points gathered at this seminar include but not limited to the following : a. that effective central bank communication requires a consciously designed strategy in line core mandates, the adoption of the most suited medium, and with specific target audience in mind ; b. there is also the need to have specific strategies for monetary policy and financial stability. but the effectiveness of adopted strategies should be assessed regularly through surveys and feedback in order to adjust to the changing circumstances ; c. finally, the issue of consistency in message, proper coordination and adequate funding of communication activities must not be underestimated. 7. colleague governors and i would surely be expecting to receive the communique from this seminar to help us consider