And this change of heart has also seen a slight shift in the focus of regulatory criticism. What I’m referring to is the debate surrounding the complexity of regulation and compliance. Complexity levels have increased substantially since Basel II and been compounded by subsequent reforms – there’s no doubt about that.
These developments reflect the stimulative effect of the historically low level of interest rates in the euro area  BIS Review 65/2004  1  on monetary expansion. Demand for the most liquid components of M3 contained in the narrow aggregate M1 is particularly strong. The low level of interest rates is also fuelling private sector demand for credit.