of independence. notably, this includes publishing the accounts of the monetary policy discussion in the governing council. the takeover of banking supervision was accompanied by additional and more far - reaching accountability obligations, such as the interinstitutional agreement with the european parliament and a number of memoranda of understanding with other institutions. a separation principle was established ; and supervision does not have broad regulatory powers like in monetary policy. so while our unconventional measures undoubtedly have side effects, the essential point is that these side effects are not manifestly disproportionate to the primary objective of the measures – contributing to price stability. but we have to continuously monitor the ongoing appropriateness of our measures in order to preserve the balance between costs and benefits. and while the growing number of new tools and activities has moved the actions of the central bank closer to other policy realms, the boundary was never crossed – as confirmed by the european court of justice. therefore, the use of such measures during the crisis does not represent a break with the framework that justifies central bank independence. but we continue to assess the impact of our measures, and of negative interest rates in particular, on areas such as bank profitability, and to consider whether our mix of policy measures remains suitable and proportionate. probity my final watchword refers not to how policymakers conduct policy, but to their personal conduct. at a time of increased external pressure on central banks, it is important that policymakers act with probity. the treaty affords significant personal independence to members of the ecb ’ s governing council. these provisions play a vital role in our unique institutional framework, since monetary policy must be appropriate for euro area - wide conditions, which may be different from the conditions in a policymaker ’ s home country. by providing strong protections for sitting governing council members, the treaty aims to isolate them from political pressure. these protections also come with an obligation to act in a responsible manner at all times. inappropriate behaviour by policymakers can damage the reputation of central banks and be used by politicians to build a narrative against independence. this is why we publish the 3 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches calendars of the members of the executive board, as well as their speaking points when talking behind closed doors. in the long run, we can only remain isolated from political pressure if we separate ourselves from political debate. conclusion the multiple crises of recent years have forced the ecb to venture into unknown territory to fulfil its primary mandate

easy monetary stance is expected to continue underpinning the economy. with regard to prices, import prices are rising, reflecting an increase in international commodity prices such as crude oil prices since april. domestic wholesale prices, notwithstanding the rise in prices of petroleum products reflecting the increase in crude oil prices, are mostly unchanged mainly due to the decrease in prices of electric machinery. meanwhile, consumer prices continue to be somewhat weak this report was written based on data and information available when the bank of japan monetary policy meeting was held on 13 october 2000. the bank ’ s view on recent economic and financial developments, determined by the policy board at the monetary policy meeting held on 13 october as the basis of monetary policy decisions. owing to the decline in prices of imported products reflecting the past appreciation of the yen, although prices of petroleum products and electricity increased from the rise in crude oil prices. corporate service prices are still falling slowly. as for the outlook on prices, downward pressure on prices stemming from weak demand is declining significantly while an economic recovery is expected to continue moderately. upward pressure on prices is likely to arise temporarily from the increase in crude oil prices. on the other hand, in addition to the declining trend of machinery prices due to technological innovations, the decline in prices of consumer goods arising from the past appreciation of the yen and the streamlining of distribution channels will exert downward pressure on prices. thus, prices overall are expected to be stable or weak somewhat. in the financial market, the overnight call rate is generally moving around 0. 25 %. the amount of funds outstanding in the call money market has increased slightly. as for interest rates on term instruments, those on contracts maturing beyond the year - end have risen somewhat. the japan premium remains negligible. yields on long - term government bonds are generally moving in the range of 1. 8 - 1. 9 %. the yield spread between private bonds ( bank debentures and corporate bonds ) and government bonds remains mostly unchanged as a whole. stock prices dropped from early october and are recently moving around the lowest level since the beginning of this year. in the foreign exchange market, the yen depreciated gradually from the end of september and the yen - dollar exchange rate temporarily rose to ¥109 - 110. the yen is currently being traded in the range of ¥107 - 109 to the us dollar. with regard to corporate finance, private banks continue to be more active in extending loans mainly to blue - chip companies, while carefully evaluating the