The European Central Bank (ECB) operated with the largest loss in its history. According to the development of the situation and future predictions, it might continue in the same direction, accumulating additional losses in the future.

This is all about interest rate figures. The loss incurred in 2023 amounts to €7.9 billion. Taking into account reserves for financial risks, the loss amounts to €1.3 billion. It is possible that they will need to increase banks’ obligations for reserves.

In 2022 and 2023, they raised key interest rates by 4.5 percentage points and printed new money to stimulate the economy, and consequently inflation, with high liquidity and cheap loans.

With all of the above, the gap between asset and liability interest rates is likely to result in losses in the coming years.

The bank is still well capitalized and can operate efficiently, ECB officials state.