Second, the medium-term orientation gives the ECB the possibility to respond in the most appropriate manner to different economic shocks, according to their origin, size and nature.
Periods of low interest rates are not uncommon, but what was unusual in this case was its persistence across large parts of the world. While not making a crisis inevitable, it contributed to simultaneous risktaking and hence vulnerabilities in a number of the major economies. Another factor is the increasing size and complexity of financial systems.