The European Union’s top watchdog has urged the European Central Bank to stop meeting market players such as hedge funds shortly before setting policy, adding to pressure for it to tighten its rules of engagement.

Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly said she would write next week to ECB president Mario Draghi, arguing that ECB officials should not give an investor any advantage over rivals by meeting them ahead of setting policy – such as interest rates.

The recommendation could reignite a debate about transparency at Europe’s arguably most powerful institution, which sets the cost of eurozone borrowing, supervises banks and was part of the ‘troika’ involved in overhauling troubled states such as Greece.

O’Reilly’s intervention follows a closed-door hedge-fund dinner earlier this year where a top ECB official revealed market-sensitive information.

Recently published diaries of officials showed that hedge funds and banks regularly met policy-setters, even shortly before key decisions.

“It has already been established by the ECB, in its speaking engagement guidelines, that it should not give a prestige advantage to certain groups over others when a board member meets them,” O’Reilly said.

Rules on the quiet period at the moment refer to speeches and public appearances. But shouldn’t the quiet period also apply to bilateral meetings?

“Rules on the quiet period at the moment refer to speeches and public appearances. But shouldn’t the quiet period also apply to bilateral meetings?,” she said.

In her Ombudsman role, O’Reilly keeps tabs on European institutions to ensure that they behave ethically and are accountable to the public.

Her remarks come amid a rethink at the ECB on key transparency issues, such as the ‘quiet period’. This refers to the time when policy-setters avoid discussing central bank business with outsiders.

Although the Ombudsman’s recommendations have no legal weight, they add pressure to the ECB to fall into line with common practise elsewhere. The ECB declined to comment.

O’Reilly’s comments come after ECB diaries revealed that Benoît Coeuré, an influential member of the ECB’s executive board, met BNP Paribas in September 2014 just hours before cutting the deposit rate – the charge on banks for parking money at the ECB.

Separately, Coeuré had told an audience including hedge funds this May about plans to accelerate bond buying.

The euro fell when it was announced to the public the following day and some investors cried foul. The ECB said the delayed publication of his speech was accidental.

The Bank of England, in contrast, has strict published rules that prohibit its Monetary Policy Committee members from meeting with ‘market participants’ roughly one week ahead of the meeting at which they set policy such as interest rates.

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