The European Central Bank (ECB) is exploring options to reduce its financial losses including raising minimum reserve requirements, according to Reuters.

The publication cited four sources familiar with ongoing ECB discussions, who said that moves to reduce the tax bills of the ECB and central banks included increasing how much cash banks must hold in unremunerated accounts, charging banks fees for their excess reserves, or not paying interest on the reserves.

Under current ECB rules, commercial banks are required to hold one per cent of their deposits in reserve at their central banks. Reuters reported that doubling this requirement to two per cent could save the ECB, and all 21 central banks in the Eurozone, nearly €4 billion per year.

In a news conference reported by Reuters, Christine Lagarde, president of the ECB, said: "On ​the minimum reserve requirement, it was not discussed on the occasion of this Governing Council, which doesn't ​mean to say that it will not be discussed.”

"It will, as it has been,” Lagarde added, with sources telling Reuters that a final decision in the autumn was likely.

If the ECB decides not to raise minimum reserve requirements, it could opt to charge banks fees directly, Reuters reported, or stop remunerating commercial banks for reserves that are excess to the regulatory minimum. At present, the publication said, the ECB and central banks pay almost €50 billion per year combined in remuneration.

In June, the ECB announced a major change to its governance requirements to provide banks with more freedom in their practices, deprecating approximately 40 recommendations it deemed outdated.

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