During the crisis, this has become more attractive still. The share of euro-area sovereign bonds in total bank assets in the eurozone increased over the past five years by one-third – from 4 per cent to 5.3. And in most countries the home bias, which decreased over the first decade of monetary union, increased again during the crisis.
It’s too early to have the discussion because we are still (in the process of) understanding the nature of the shock. Are you comfortable with how the market took the President’s comments yesterday? Yes, we are.