ECB Economic Bulletin Pre-Release: Majority of Euro Area Citizens Trust ECB

23 April 2024

By Aurėja Bobelytė – VILNIUS (Econostream) – Most euro area citizens have some trust or a high level of trust in the European Central Bank, according to survey results presented in an Economic Bulletin pre-released by the ECB on Tuesday.

‘[A]nalysis of the Consumer Expectations Survey data at the level of the individual reveals that trust in the ECB is a multifaceted concept, with a significant majority of survey respondents expressing either some trust or a high level of trust in the ECB’, the paper said.

It was highlighted that a longer sample period would be required to find out whether the same trends remained in an environment of lower global uncertainty.

‘Although, on a scale of 0 to 10, most survey respondents have a trust level between 5 and 8, around 10% of respondents have no trust in the ECB at all across the sample’, the paper said, adding that over the short and medium-term respondents’ trust in the ECB tended not to change.

According to the pre-release, trust in the ECB mirrors institutional trust. Those who lack trust in the ECB also tended not to trust other institutions.

‘The fact that most individuals’ level of trust fluctuates only slightly over short time horizons confirms that trust takes time to build and requires continuous communication efforts by the ECB’, the paper said.