Villeroy Says Banks Mustn’t Fear ECB Duty to Create Digital Euro

The European Central Bank has a duty to create an e-euro, and retail lenders shouldn’t be concerned that it would undermine their business, Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said.

“Commercial banks can and should get on board with full confidence,” he said at a conference organized by BNP Paribas SA. “We are, in this 21st century as in the two previous ones, complementary and not competitors on money and payments.”

Villeroy said financial institutions have doubts over the utility of a Central Bank Digital Currency, or CBDC, and whether such initiatives would rival commercial bank money. ...