And that suggests that lending is no longer holding back growth.”  As long as interest rates are negative, this will fuel criticism. Not least because the concept of ‘negative rates’ is so difficult to grasp. Could that be an argument for hiking rates before scaling back your bond-buying programme? Praet: “The negative deposit rate is part of a complex package of interrelated measures.
In addition, such factors as the large room to raise productivity, mainly in the nonmanufacturing sector, and the technological progress in recent years have allowed firms to maintain their cautious stance toward raising prices, even amid the economic expansion.