And let me make a final important point here: European banks, in general, have considerably improved their capital base making them less vulnerable to financial strains. Speaking about German banks, the Tier 1 capital ratio currently reaches 12.6 % on average, having improved by about three percentage points between the end of 2008 and June 2011. But let me return to the bigger picture.
It has to be kept in mind that the sovereign debt crisis and, indeed, challenges we face in parts of the European banking system can ultimately only be resolved by ambitious and credible fiscal policy measures, particularly in the countries whose fiscal soundness is being questioned. Conversely, it is imperative to very clearly separate monetary policy from fiscal policy.