depends a lot on global developments. if necessary, we stand ready to use all of the instruments at our disposal. that includes the key interest rates and the size, composition and duration of our securities purchases. we will take a decision on this in march. how will the ecb ever manage to move away again from its expansionary monetary policy? technically speaking, it ’ s not hard to do. the us central bank is currently demonstrating how it ’ s done. what is more important is that our environment – and by that i mean government policies – should support us sufficiently in generating more growth. if this does not happen, we will have to keep rates low for a very long time. so it ’ s not just up to us whether the low interest rate phase can be brought to an end, it also depends on the pace of reform in euro area countries. but the refugee crisis means that we ’ re also facing a new challenge right now. is this going to affect economic developments? it is a huge challenge, not only in germany, but for europe as a whole. but the refugee crisis is also a great opportunity for europe if the refugees can be successfully integrated into the labour market. the more europe stands together in the refugee crisis, the greater is the likelihood that it can be overcome. as a european citizen, i believe that we are now at a historic moment when the eu must demonstrate that it is able to reach a european solution. bis central bankers ’ speeches is that realistic? europe has already overcome similar situations, for example during the debt crisis. in this case, given that we are talking about millions of people who are fleeing to europe, i personally believe that the eu has a moral obligation to find a joint european solution. the european project is not first and foremost a financial project. europe always was, and will continue to be, about bringing people together, not about dividing them. the euro area countries cannot even agree on whether or not there should be a common limit on payments in cash. what would you advocate? this is a matter for the eu finance ministers to decide on, not the ecb. there are countries in europe where cash is very important, and there are others where cash plays a lesser role. but the ecb is responsible for withdrawing the €500 note. we have direct responsibility for this because of course we print the banknote. the ecb ’ s governing council is currently considering very carefully the question of whether or not to withdraw the €500 note

benoit cœure : interview in rheinische post interview with mr benoit cœure, member of the executive board of the european central bank, in rheinische post, conducted by ms birgit marschall and mr georg winters and published on 13 february 2016. * * * share prices are sharply down on the world ’ s stock markets. why? there are several compounding factors, each calling for different answers. first, it ’ s a global phenomenon. investors are generally anxious about a slowdown in growth worldwide, especially in the emerging markets, and above all in china. second, there ’ s great uncertainty about the global effects of the low oil price. initially, it was thought the low price would be good for global growth, but now some negative effects can be seen, particularly in emerging markets. third, market participants are questioning how profitable banks are and whether they have successful business models for the future. how affected are europe ’ s banks? they are in a much better position today than they were at the height of the debt crisis in 2011 and 2012. thanks to the banking union they are now much more resilient. they have very significantly built up their capital and liquidity. one challenge they face is their low profitability, which is also related to the current level of economic growth. also, some banks have a high level of non - performing loans on their books, as a legacy of the crisis. none of these challenges are new : they have been clearly identified, they require forceful action and they will be solved over time. what about germany ’ s banks? deutsche bank and commerzbank have lost a lot of trust. i can ’ t talk about individual banks. generally speaking, european banks are in a transitional phase and are rethinking their business models, also concerning technological developments. they also face a new regulatory environment. we have had a new framework for the resolution of banks only since the beginning of january. together with the single supervision, this system will make them stronger and better protect taxpayers, but banks and investors are still learning about it. is a new financial crisis more likely? no. today in the euro area we have economic growth of between 1 % and 1. 5 % and accelerating, while a few years ago it was negative. this growth is helping the banking sector to recover. provided we stay on this path i ’ m optimistic that the crisis will not return. low interest rates and rising share prices normally go together