I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the dialogue between our institutions on the euro area macroeconomic adjustment programmes. In recent years, this topic has indeed been frequently discussed here by the ECB President and other ECB Executive Board Members, including myself. We have also responded publicly to the many questions you have sent us in writing.
The capital required for an economy based on agriculture and artisan-based manufacturing had been in the form of land, seed, basic tooling and the like. Traders needed working capital in order to purchase goods in one place and move them to another for sale, and various financial devices arose to assist this.