Discover the European Central Bank's key functions, structure, and role in Eurozone monetary policy, ensuring price stability among the 19 countries using the euro.

The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged for a fourth straight meeting against a backdrop of near-target inflation and sturdier economic activity in the euro zone.

The ECB said it would guard against “undue risk-taking and a weakening of resilience” from banks’ surging issuance of a securitisation product known as significant risk transfer (SRT), in which investors take on the credit risk from a portfolio of loans.

As expected, the European Central Bank (ECB) held policy rates steady today, extending its pause for a fourth straight meeting in the current easing cycle.

The European Central Bank kept its policy rates steady on Thursday and took a more positive view on a euro zone economy that has shown resilience to global trade shocks. Following are highlights of ECB President Christine Lagarde's comments at a news conference after the policy meeting.

LONDON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - European Central Bank ‌President ​Christine Lagarde said on ‌Thursday she was "fully confident" European Union leaders would ​agree a way to support Ukraine given the vital importance of the ‍issue.

European Central Bank Governing Council member Martins Kazaks said the economy has been faring better than expected but officials must keep all possibilities on the table because of continued uncertainty globally.

Risks to euro zone growth and inflation are fairly balanced but remain large, so the European Central Bank needs to keep an open mind about future policy moves, Dutch central bank chief Olaf Sleijpen said on Friday.