And it is conferences like these, where we can further develop our ideas. And, most importantly, macroprudential policy has already proven its importance. When we were first confronted with the Covid-19 crisis, more than two years ago, the financial system was much more resilient than during the global financial crisis in 2008.
Banks were better capitalized and had sufficient buffers to continue their lending to the real economy. As a result, the financial sector was able to absorb, rather than amplify the external shock. More recently, we were confronted with the invasion of Ukraine. This is of course predominantly a humanitarian crisis, but also has profound economic and financial effects.