The European Central Bank, in a reply by President Christine Lagarde to a Member of the European Parliament, summarised its ethics framework for the Governing Council, Executive Board and Supervisory Board and clarified the restrictions that apply to high-level officials’ private financial transactions. The ECB confirmed that officials may invest only in publicly listed, broadly diversified collective investment schemes such as exchange-traded funds and mutual funds, while other investments including crypto-assets and stablecoins are not allowed. The framework is based on a single Code of Conduct introduced in 2019, including the publication of Declarations of Interests. Amendments made in December 2022 strengthened the private financial transaction rules by narrowing the range of permitted instruments, applying a medium- to long-term investment horizon, enhancing transparency via Declarations of Interests, and extending the applicability of the rules beyond the term of office to mitigate risks of misuse of privileged or market-sensitive information and conflicts of interest. The ECB also noted that restrictions do not apply to transactions undertaken purely for personal, non-investment purposes, such as acquiring crypto-assets or stablecoins to gain a deeper understanding of financial innovations or to make payments, with the stated rationale assessed ex post through regular compliance checks.
European Central Bank 2025-12-19
European Central Bank clarifies high-level officials may invest only in diversified listed funds and not in crypto-assets
The European Central Bank (ECB) outlined its ethics framework for high-level officials, restricting private financial transactions to publicly listed, broadly diversified collective investment schemes like exchange-traded funds and mutual funds, excluding crypto-assets and stablecoins. Amended in December 2022, the framework enhances transparency and mitigates risks by narrowing permitted instruments and extending rules beyond officials' terms. Transactions for personal, non-investment purposes, such as acquiring crypto-assets for understanding financial innovations, are exempt but subject to compliance checks.