The European Central Bank (ECB) today published amendments to its guidelines on the implementation of monetary policy in the Eurosystem, applicable as of 30 March 2026.
The amended guidelines introduce a number of changes, including those detailed below:
- Access to Eurosystem monetary policy operations will be reinstated for entities subject to a resolution scheme based on an open bank resolution strategy, provided they meet certain conditions. For example, the supervisory authority must confirm that the counterparty complies with regulatory minimum own funds requirements.
- As announced on 29 November 2024, certain temporary asset types will be integrated into the general collateral framework, while others will be discontinued for use as collateral. This serves toenhance the harmonisation of the collateral framework.
- To protect the Eurosystem against potential declines in the value of collateral in the event of adverse climate-related transition shocks, a climate factor will be introduced. This measure was announced on 29 July 2025 and will be applicable as of 15 June 2026.
- International debt instruments issued with international central securities depositories in fullydematerialised form or in any other form not relying on physical global notes will be eligible as Eurosystem collateral, provided they meet all other eligibility criteria. The Eurosystem reserves the right to verify that such instruments do not give rise to material risks that might affect the Eurosystem’s rights as collateral holder. This update complements current rules on the form of international debt instruments represented by physical global notes. It reflects recent market infrastructure developments in the international debt securities market and ensures alignment with evolving issuance practices by central securities depositories.