BIS Review 56/2000  2  Does that mean “business as usual”? No, that is certainly not how I see the future of central banking. The increasing globalisation of the markets and the resulting structural changes mean that the central banks are facing challenges on a scale that cannot easily be grasped at present.
Despite unprecedented challenges to monetary policy implementation, central banks have succeeded in delivering financial and monetary conditions that are exceptionally supportive of real economic activity. Many euro area firms can currently borrow in financial markets at negative rates. Bank lending rates, also for small and medium-sized firms, are currently at, or close to, historical lows, with little dispersion across major economies.