In May 2026, the ECB Governing Council discussed financial stability, approved policy reviews, amended payment system guidelines, and appointed new members to the Market Infrastructure Board.
On 20 May 2026, the ECB Governing Council reviewed the May 2026 edition of the Financial Stability Review, which highlights vulnerabilities and special features on artificial intelligence, corporate bankruptcies, macroprudential policies, and private credit exposures. The review will be published on 27 May 2026.
On 28 April 2026, the Council approved a revised T2/RTGS pricing policy, effective from 1 July 2026, including increased fixed fees and recalibrated volume-based pricing bands. A comprehensive review of the policy will be conducted in 2028.
On 4 May 2026, the Governing Council adopted Guideline ECB/2026/11 amending Guideline (EU) 2022/912 on TARGET services, incorporating the European Payment Council’s “One-Leg Out” scheme and changes to the fee structure effective from 1 July 2026.
On 12 May 2026, the ECB issued an opinion on rules for cash payment systems at the request of the Dutch Minister for Finance. On 19 May 2026, it issued an opinion on reducing charges for cash withdrawals and ATM transactions.
On 13 May 2026, 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 Board manages TARGET2-Securities and liaises with market stakeholders.
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 Council approved the June 2026 edition of the report on the international role of the euro, scheduled for publication on 2 June 2026.
Regarding banking supervision, on 30 April 2026, the ECB did not object to publishing reports on good practices for climate and nature risk management and stress testing. On 6 May 2026, it approved notifying the EBA of compliance with guidelines on confidentiality regimes for third-country authorities. On 7 May 2026, the Council approved the publication of the 2025 Annual Report on SSM sanctioning activities, covering 370 proceedings and €57.15 million in fines.
