With regard to corporate finance, private banks remain cautious in extending loans to firms with high credit risks, while they continue to be more active in extending loans to blue-chip companies. Their lending attitudes seem to be becoming slightly more accommodative in areas such as terms and conditions for lending.
But, where past 3  BIS Review 22/2000  price performance has not been particularly favourable, inflation targets can help to strengthen confidence in the central bank’s commitment to low inflation. From the early-1970s to the early-1990s, on average, Canada had a somewhat higher inflation rate than the United States.