Properly equipped, the banking union is thus a key component of a stable monetary union. With the banking union, government finances will be better protected in the future against crises in the banking sector. But we have to break through the vicious circle from another direction, too. We also have to protect banks from government finances running into difficulties.
Having said that, the extent of the productivity slowdown during the first half, as revealed in the preliminary CSO estimates, was surprising and is being analysed by the Bank. As more data for this year become available, we will get a clearer picture of what’s happening.