You also cannot ask the borrowers of money what the level of interest rates should be. 2.7 Where anybody stands on monetary policy is determined by where he sits. When I was criticised for the policies of the Bank, I always asked who the critic was and where he worked. The answer invariably made me apathetic to the criticism.
The return on equity of EU banks peaked at 12% in 2000. The sector's profitability subsequently declined for two consecutive years, reaching 8.6% in 2002. Increased loan-loss provisions for corporate loans, reduced commissions and trading income from capital market-related business were mainly behind this fall.