She glances briefly at her head of communications. But then she said it anyway. And she adds that she knows it’s going to be a shit storm for at least three hours. Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), says she does not have a particularly positive opinion about cryptocurrencies.
His son has also invested in cryptocurrencies. She couldn’t stop him. But he lost a lot of money, certainly 60%. Then they had another conversation – and he agreed with her.
However, it is clear that people are free to speculate as much as they want, says the President of the ECB. But what is not possible is for cryptocurrencies to be used for all types of criminal activities.
Discussion in an old church
Answering questions about central banks that bother young people: that was the aim of the “Euro 20+” discussion event, which has now been organized again by the Bundesbank. As in many other euro countries, central bankers are seeking dialogue with the general public more than ever.
This time we met at Sankt Peter, a church in Frankfurt that has been converted for events. In a hall named after Athena; the Greek goddess associated with an animal owl that Lagarde chose as the symbol of his presidency. The event, held entirely in English, was moderated by ARD’s young talent, Eva Schulz.
… still have to sign notes
“Will negative interest rates return?” ask Lagarde for young people. She honestly says she doesn’t know either. If the battle against inflation has already been won? No, it’s too early to celebrate, says Lagarde. But it is “progress” that the inflation rate is no longer 10.6 percent, as it was in October last year, but 2.9 percent.
Moderator Schulz is also interested in how you feel when, as President of the ECB, you know that everyone is carrying banknotes with their own signature. Everyone can take a look in their wallet and see if they still carry a “real Draghi” or a “Lagarde”. The President of the ECB says: If she gets bored at a party and wants to go home, she likes to say that she urgently needs to sign some more notes.
The ECB did not ignore the money supply
Lagarde is asked whether Europe’s central bank is concerned about a common currency for the Brics countries, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. She responds with a counter-question: To what extent does the questioner see the similarities between these countries?
Another questioner wants to know whether the ECB paid little attention to the money supply in the past and was punished by inflation. The money supply has never been “ignored”, responds Lagarde, but the central bank no longer focuses as much on this dimension as it did 20 years ago.
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As a woman, does she feel like a stranger in a man’s world? Lagarde also mentions photos of the Governing Council in which almost only men can be seen.
And young people want to know: what do they think about climate change? Lagarde explains what the central bank is doing, such as climate stress tests for banks. And he warns: If we do nothing, we will be “roasted, roasted and grilled”.