The Eurosystem's monetary policy measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Bank of Italy's contribution

The note on 'The Eurosystem's monetary policy measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Bank of Italy's contribution' is now online.

The purpose of this brief note is to provide an overall picture of the monetary policy measures introduced by the Eurosystem over the last few months in response to the COVID-19 emergency.

The coronavirus epidemic and the lockdown measures enacted by governments to contain it have seriously affected the economic outlook at global level. The collapse of tourism, the reduction in world trade, the suspension of a wide range of production and trade activities and the fall in demand for goods and services have been the main channels for transmitting the effects of the pandemic to the economic system. The resulting recession and the high level of uncertainty over the pandemic's economic repercussions have been reflected in a sharp rise in volatility and risk aversion on the financial markets. The monetary authorities in all the major economies have adopted extraordinary expansionary measures to guarantee liquidity to the markets, support lending to households and firms and boost demand for goods, services and investment.

The Bank of Italy has played an active part in drawing up the monetary policy measures introduced by the ECB's Governing Council in response to the pandemic; in addition, in compliance with the principle of operational decentralization, the Bank of Italy is directly responsible for implementing these measures.