Indeed, as I noted, a premature removal of accommodation could, by slowing the economy, perversely serve to extend the period of low long-term rates. For these reasons, we are responding to financial stability concerns with the multipronged approach I summarized a moment ago, which relies primarily on monitoring, supervision and regulation, and communication.
But there is clearly scope for further improvements: cost-to-income ratios, for example, have remained high for euro area banks compared to their global peers, and progress in efficiency improvements has levelled off. Opportunities for efficiency gains are there.