). these very low rates are expected to remain at their present levels for an extended period of time, and well past the horizon of net asset purchases under the app. working in unison, the aim of these instruments is to improve financing conditions – which they have in fact achieved, to some extent. there has been a significant pick - up in lending since it hit its lowest point in early 2014, and the same can be said of monetary aggregates. what ’ s more, prices are rising more sharply once again – especially if you look beyond the fluctuations caused by energy prices. but this comes at a price : all in all, the asset purchases made under the programmes launched in june 2014 currently total around €2 trillion, with government bonds accounting for almost €1. 7 trillion of this. since june 2014, the eurosystem ’ s total assets have increased from €2. 2 trillion to €4. 3 trillion. excess liquidity – in other words, surplus central bank money – currently stands at around €1. 8 trillion. these asset purchases mark a move deep into uncharted territory for european monetary policymakers. eurosystem central banks are now the euro - area countries ’ biggest creditors. the boundaries between monetary and fiscal policy, which are of such crucial importance in a monetary union, are becoming increasingly blurred. the financing conditions imposed on governments depend to a great extent on the actions of central banks. you don ’ t need to be a naysayer to fear that there may be political pressure to pursue an accommodative monetary policy for longer than necessary from a price stability perspective. 4. where could it go from here? this part of my speech is about the future path of the monetary policy in the euro area : where could it go from here? the ecb governing council alone decides what path to take. it goes without saying that this includes the decision on whether and, if so, when it would be appropriate to normalise monetary policy. at its press conference earlier this month, ecb president mario draghi, has confirmed that the framework for this will be re - examined in autumn. in any case, the current environment is opening up the prospect of no longer needing to further loosen the reins of monetary policy. economic recovery is ongoing and risks have been broadly offset. political risks in the euro area, at least, are lower and the banking system has become more stable. the eurosystem finds itself surrounded by countries all over the world pursuing a

for this easing is that the elections in france, the netherlands and austria did not yield a positive outcome for eurosceptic parties. to sum up this first part we can say that financial markets are currently in quite good shape, driven by an improved economic outlook, benign political developments and an accommodative monetary policy stance. 3. the financial crisis : monetary policy undergoing change the mandate of the eurosystem states quite clearly that maintaining price stability in the euro area is our overriding priority. that is why we conduct monetary policy. in august, the euro area annual consumer price inflation ( hicp ) was 1. 5 %. this is still below the targeted inflation rate of less than, but close to 2 % per year over the medium term. however, the risk of deflation is now universally considered to be very low. in 2014, things looked different : the euro area inflation was steadily declining and bottomed out at – 0. 6 % in january 2015. but this risk has decreased – also supported by our monetary policy measures. the ecb governing council has been pursuing an accommodative monetary policy stance for a while. since june 2014, a move known as quantative easing has been implemented by the eurosystem in order to bolster financing conditions for banks and the real economy. at the same time credit easing has been extended. the main measures were, briefly : targeted longer - term refinancing operations ( also known as tltros ) that provide financing to banks for up to four years, with the amount that an individual bank can borrow being linked to its loans and lending patterns to the private sector, at extremely favourable ( in some cases, negative ) interest rates ; various asset purchase programmes, grouped under the umbrella acronym app ( expanded asset purchase programme ) : an additional covered bond purchase programme ( cbpp3 ) ; an asset - backed securities purchase programme ( abspp ) ; a corporate sector purchase programme ( cspp ) ; and the large - scale public sector purchase programme ( pspp ) as the main instrument to address weak inflation ; the affirmation that full allotment in regular refinancing operations will continue at least until the end of 2017 ; and in terms of policy rates, a very low interest environment with the main refinancing rate, 2 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches which has stood at 0 % since march 2016, and the negative deposit rate ( negative since june 2014 ; currently – 0. 4 %