The other major and exceptional challenge is the one we are still facing today: the preservation of price stability and the safeguarding of financial stability in the euro area during the worst financial crisis in decades. The ongoing financial crisis which is, in many respects, unprecedented in intensity, scope and complexity has highlighted the role of the ECB in safeguarding financial stability.
When they were finally imposed in 1977, they contributed to slowing mortgage lending, but it was too late to prevent a collapse of the Dutch housing market. In 1976, house prices started to tumble, as interest rates rose  1  Groeneveld (1997). 2  See De Haas et al (2000). 2  BIS Review 84/2008  and the economy went into a recession.