Accountability and Transparency in Central Banking

The study discusses the relationship between accountability and transparency in central banking and the role and scope of parliamentary scrutiny. Special attention is given to the consequences of the current crisis for this area. For the authors, the current crisis shows that price stability alone is not sufficient for financial stability. They therefore argue that preserving financial stability should become a second primary objective for the European Central Bank (ECB), which should be given the appropriate tools to prevent the re-emergence of excessive credit creation and leverage. The study gives recommendations for the current situation as well as for the longer term.