ECB Governing Council decisions in May 2026 include financial stability review and policy updates

On 20 May 2026, the ECB Governing Council held a discussion on euro area financial stability issues based on the May 2026 Financial Stability Review. The review highlights vulnerabilities and includes four special features on artificial intelligence, corporate bankruptcies, macroprudential policies, and private credit exposures. The review will be published on the ECB’s website on 27 May 2026.

On 28 April 2026, the Governing Council approved a revised T2/RTGS pricing policy, effective from 1 July 2026, aiming for full cost recovery by 2038. The policy includes increased fixed fees and recalibrated volume-based pricing bands. A comprehensive review is mandated for 2028.

On 4 May 2026, the Governing Council adopted Guideline ECB/2026/11 amending the TARGET Guideline to include new technical changes, such as the European Payment Council’s “One-Leg Out” scheme and fee structure updates effective from 1 July 2026.

The Governing Council also issued opinions on rules for cash payment systems and ATM fee reductions on 12 and 19 May 2026, respectively.

Regarding corporate governance, the Governing Council extended the appointment of Thomas Vlassopoulos as Chair of the Market Infrastructure Board and appointed new members for the 2026-2029 term, including representatives from various Eurosystem national central banks and non-euro area countries.

The Governing Council approved the publication of the Quality Report 2025 on euro area and national balance of payments and international investment position statistics on 13 May 2026.

On 20 May 2026, the Governing Council approved the June 2026 edition of the report on the international role of the euro, scheduled for publication on 2 June 2026.

In ECB Banking Supervision, two reports on climate and nature risk management and stress testing were approved for publication on 30 April 2026. Additionally, the ECB did not object to notifying the EBA of compliance with confidentiality guidelines and approved the 2025 annual report on SSM sanctioning activities, which details enforcement actions and penalties, totaling approximately €57.15 million in fines for 2025.