But we had to be fairly sure that the alternative was going to be pretty bad before we took action which we knew would be likely to inflame an asset market and borrowing boom. Monetary policy might not be able to do much to end an asset price boom without a fair bit of collateral damage so, at least, it is commonly claimed.
But whatever one’s view on that, surely policy should avoid needlessly adding to the boom. ‘First, do no harm’ is a good motto here. We have sought to balance these various concerns over the past several months.