August-September 2026
2 October 2026
External communication
Announcements related to the digital euro project
On 30 July 2026 the ECB issued a press release outlining the accessibility features of the digital euro app, the design of which will go beyond the requirements set out in the European Accessibility Act, and announcing that the ECB would start usability and accessibility testing as part of the digital euro pilot in 2027. The press release, together with the related underlying documentation, is available on the ECB’s website.
On 15 September 2026 the ECB issued a call for expression of interest inviting e-commerce and mobile commerce (m-commerce) merchants operating in the euro area to take part in the digital euro pilot. The deadline to submit applications is 27 October 2026.
Finally, on 28 September 2026 the ECB issued another call for expression of interest inviting private companies and organisations to collaborate in exploring how the digital euro infrastructure could support them in their innovation efforts. More detailed information is available in the related announcement published on the ECB’s website. The deadline to submit applications is 9 November 2026.
Strong participation in the ECB survey on the future design of the euro banknotes
On 23 September 2026 the ECB issued a press release reporting that almost ten million people across Europe and beyond had completed the ECB survey on the future design of euro banknotes, which ran between 23 July and 21 September 2026. This level of participation, equal to 2.6% of the euro area population, is unprecedented for such a survey. The press release also outlined the next steps in the process. More information on the future banknotes, the shortlisted proposals and the selection process is available on the ECB’s website.
Market operations
Amendments to legal acts on the implementation of the Eurosystem monetary policy framework
On 22 September 2026 the Governing Council adopted amendments to the legal acts implementing the Eurosystem monetary policy framework. The amending legal acts are Guideline ECB/2026/26 amending Guideline (EU) 2015/510 on the implementation of the Eurosystem monetary policy framework and Guideline ECB/2026/27 amending Guideline (EU) 2016/65 on the valuation haircuts applied in the implementation of the Eurosystem monetary policy framework.
The amendments will apply from 30 November 2026 and include the changes detailed in a related press release available on the ECB’s website.
Macroprudential policy and financial stability
Response of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) to the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) targeted consultation
On 7 September 2026 the Governing Council, with the involvement of the General Council, approved the ESCB’s response to the European Commission’s targeted consultation on the review of MiCAR. The response, which welcomes the consultation to assess areas where existing rules could be improved with a view to ensuring that MiCAR remains fit for purpose, taking into account lessons learned from the initial years of MiCAR’s implementation, evolving market dynamics and practices in other jurisdictions, is available on the ECB’s website.
Market infrastructure and payments
Appointment of a new member of the Market Infrastructure Board (MIB)
On 30 July 2026 the Governing Council approved the appointment of Sigríður Dis Guðjónsdóttir, Head of Payments and Resilience at the Central Bank of Iceland, as a non-voting member of the MIB from a non-euro area central bank until 31 May 2029. The full list of members of the MIB is available on the ECB’s website.
Agreement for and go-live of the Pontes pilot
On 11 August 2026 the Governing Council approved an agreement governing the initial launch of Pontes, a solution that enables wholesale transactions in tokenised assets to be settled in central bank money. The agreement between the Eurosystem central banks and the solution-providing Eurosystem national central banks establishes a binding legal framework for a production grade system while, at the same time, reflecting the interim nature of this phase of the service. It also includes terms and conditions for market participants and market distributed ledger technology (DLT) operators that will provide contract templates for arrangements between the Eurosystem central banks and their market participants and market DLT operators. On 11 September 2026 the Market Infrastructure Board recommended proceeding with the scheduled Pontes initial launch date of 21 September 2026. A related press release is available on the ECB’s website.
ECB Decision on the identification of Visa Europe Payment System as a systemically important payment system
On 24 August 2026 the Governing Council adopted Decision ECB/2026/22 on the identification of the Visa Europe Payment System as a systemically important payment system pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2025/1355 on oversight requirements for systemically important payment systems. The Decision, which was notified to the German branch of Visa Europe Limited in its capacity as operator of Visa Europe Payment System for the euro area, is available on EUR-Lex. As a result of the Decision, Visa Europe Payment System will be overseen by the Eurosystem with the ECB acting as lead overseer.
Progress update on the interlinking of TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) with other fast payment systems
On 24 September 2026 the Governing Council took note of a status update on progress made on interlinking the TIPS platform with other fast payment systems globally and approved the initiation of an assessment of the feasibility of interlinking with Brazil’s instant payment system, Pix. A related article is available on the ECB’s website. The Governing Council also considered a recommendation of the Market Infrastructure Board on the pricing of the TIPS interlinking service. More detailed information will be provided on the ECB’s website as further progress is made.
Advice on legislation
ECB Opinion on the Polish Defence Investment Fund
On 28 July 2026 the Governing Council adopted Opinion CON/2026/23 at the request of the Marshal of the Polish Parliament.
ECB Opinion on Ireland's participation in the International Monetary Fund’s Resilience and Sustainability Trust
On 12 August 2026 the Governing Council adopted Opinion CON/2026/24 at the request of the Irish Minister for Finance.
ECB Opinion on the introduction of a ban on crypto-asset activities, and measures concerning the application of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114
On 12 August 2026 the Governing Council adopted Opinion CON/2026/26 at the request of the Marshal of the Polish Parliament.
ECB Opinion on rules concerning the conduct and integrity of staff members of a supervisory authority and of the members of its executive board
On 14 August 2026 the Governing Council adopted Opinion CON/2026/25 at the request of the German Federal Ministry of Finance.
ECB Opinion on supervisory independence and prevention of conflicts of interest
On 19 August 2026 the Governing Council adopted Opinion CON/2026/27 at the request of the Luxembourg Ministry of Finance.
ECB Opinion on the objectives of the Financial Supervisory Authority, restricted authorisations of credit institutions and amalgamations of credit institutions
On 31 August 2026 the Governing Council adopted Opinion CON/2026/28 at the request of the Finnish Ministry of Finance.
ECB Opinion on the prevention of conflicts of interests of the Governor, Deputy Governor and employees of the Central Bank of Cyprus
On 21 September 2026 the Governing Council adopted Opinion CON/2026/29 at the request of the Minister for Justice and Public Order of Cyprus.
Corporate governance
Extension of mandate of two Administrative Board of Review (ABoR) members and one alternate
On 11 September 2026 the Governing Council decided, in line with Article 24(2) of the SSM Regulation, to extend for an additional full term of five years the mandates of Christiane Campill as ABoR member and of Damir Odak as ABoR alternate until 30 November 2031, as well as the mandate of Pentti Hakkarainen as ABoR member until 31 January 2032. The mandates of the other three members of the ABoR, the body carrying out internal administrative reviews of decisions taken by the ECB in the exercise of its supervisory powers, will expire in 2029. More detailed information on the ABoR is available on the ECB’s banking supervision website.
Opinion of the Ethics Committee on the envisaged post-employment activity of a member of the Governing Council
On 24 September 2026 the Governing Council concurred with the opinion of the Ethics Committee that the intention of Ms Isabel Schnabel, member of the Executive Board and Governing Council of the ECB, to take up the position of Financial Counsellor and Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as of 4 January 2027 did not raise, and could not be perceived as raising, conflict of interest concerns. Therefore, the Ethics Committee concluded that no cooling-off period applied in this case. On the same day, Ms Schnabel resigned from her position at the ECB with effect from 3 January 2027. A related press release is available on the ECB’s website.
Statistics
Amending Guideline on balance sheet item statistics and interest rate statistics of monetary financial institutions (MFIs)
On 11 September 2026 the Governing Council adopted Guideline ECB/2026/25 amending Guideline ECB/2021/11 on balance sheet item statistics and interest rate statistics of monetary financial institutions. The amendments are of a technical nature, introducing, for instance, updates to the reporting of quarterly statistical information on loans to non-financial corporations to ensure their alignment with the revised statistical classification of economic activities in the European Union (NACE).
ECB Banking Supervision
Decision setting out the data protection arrangement for the processing of personal data in the context of supervision
On 30 July 2026 the Governing Council did not object to a proposal by the Supervisory Board to adopt Decision ECB/2026/18 on the processing of personal data in the context of the prudential supervision of credit institutions. The Decision, available on EUR-Lex, sets out the allocation of the respective roles and responsibilities between the joint controllers, which are the ECB and the national competent authorities (NCAs), for compliance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, concerning the ECB, and Regulation (EU) 2016/679, concerning the NCAs, when processing personal data in carrying out a number of key supervisory tasks.
Publication of the results of the 2026 geopolitical risk reverse stress test
On 31 July 2026 the ECB published the results of its 2026 geopolitical risk reverse stress test, covering 110 euro area banks directly supervised by the ECB. The results, together with a related press release, are available on the ECB’s banking supervision website.
Annual Report on whistleblowing activities in the SSM in 2025
On 4 August 2026 the Governing Council did not object to a proposal by the Supervisory Board to publish the first annual report on whistleblowing activities in the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM). The report, which covers the year 2025, is aimed at providing the general public with an overview of SSM-wide whistleblowing activities conducted in the context of prudential supervision. It summarises, in an aggregated manner, information on whistleblowing reports received by the relevant authorities in 2025, including the follow-ups. The report is available on the ECB’s banking supervision website.
ECB compliance with the EBA Guidelines on amending Guidelines on the application of the definition of default under Article 178 of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013
On 14 August 2026 the Governing Council did not object to a proposal by the Supervisory Board to notify the European Banking Authority (EBA) that, for the significant institutions under its direct supervision, the ECB already complies with the amended EBA Guidelines on the application of the definition of default under Article 178 of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (EBA/GL/2026/05).
Delegation frameworks for decisions regarding the assessment of group recovery plansand decisions regarding material changes to rating systems for calculating own funds requirements for credit risk and amending Decision on the delegation of power to adopt decisions on internal models and on extension of deadlines
On 21 August 2026 the Governing Council adopted Decision (EU) 2026/2036 on delegation of the power to adopt decisions on material changes to rating systems for calculating own funds requirements for credit risk (ECB/2026/19), Decision (EU) 2026/2037 amending Decision (EU) 2021/1442 on delegation of the power to adopt decisions on internal models and on extension of deadlines (ECB/2021/38) (ECB/2026/20) and Decision (EU) 2026/2038 on delegation of the power to adopt joint decisions on the assessment of group recovery plans (ECB/2026/21). These legal acts are intended to enhance the performance of the ECB’s supervisory tasks considering the considerable number of decisions taken in these areas. On the basis of these Decisions, on 1 September 2026 the Executive Board adopted Decision (EU) 2026/2039 nominating heads of work units to adopt joint decisions on the assessment of group recovery plans (ECB/2026/23) and Decision (EU) 2026/2040 nominating heads of work units to adopt delegated decisions on material changes to rating systems for calculating own funds requirements for credit risk (ECB/2026/24).
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