Yannis Stournaras is the Governor of the Bank of Greece and thus a member of the European Central Bank Governing Council (monetary policy setting committee).
Speaking in Copenhagen, Stournaras said the ECB is probably done cutting interest rates, unless there is a meaningful deterioration in inflation or growth.
Stournaras explained that while inflation is forecast to remain slightly below 2% for several years, “that alone isn’t enough to justify more interest-rate reductions.” He described policy as being in “a good equilibrium – not a perfect equilibrium, but a good one,” adding: “For the moment there’s no reason to act on rates.”
Officials kept borrowing costs unchanged last week for a second meeting in a row, viewing price pressures as contained and risks as manageable. “We’re data dependent — if we find in our monetary-policy meetings that things have changed, we’ll change as well,” Stournaras said, but stressed that “it would take a substantial change in our outlook to change our position.”
He also noted that risks remain tilted to the downside from tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty, though “these risks aren’t severe enough to justify another cut.” The ECB’s September forecasts project inflation at 1.7% next year and 1.9% in 2027, with December’s update extending to 2028
