On the pro side, different motivations are put forward, ranging from offering an alternative for disappearing cash, to move away from the system of fractional banking or circumventing the lower bound constraint.
Subsequently, a recovery should gradually take place, supported by the fall in commodity prices and assuming that the external environment improves and financial tensions weaken. As a whole, average growth in 2009 could be between -1% and 0% according to the Eurosystem staff. This outlook remains surrounded by exceptionally high uncertainty.