The European Central Bank will announce on Wednesday the outcome of its Operational Framework Review, a technical but vital exercise that will set rules for how it provides liquidity to commercial banks in the coming years. WHAT IS THE OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK AND WHY CHANGE IT? The ECB's operational framework is the backbone of the financial system because it sets out how the central bank steers short-term money market rates and thus transmits its monetary policy to banks and ultimately the broader economy.