The bad experiences with economic convergence  Moving now from the good to the bad experiences with economic convergence, we are probably all on the same ground in this room. Let me stress those aspects which, in my view, policy-makers should never forget in the future. 1.
Relevant factors include: the persistent drag on their viability from the combination of a large tracker book and the fact that funding costs are much higher than the ECB policy rate; the dramatic increase in non-performing mortgage loans and the need there has been to make large provisions against loan losses; and the sharply increased capital requirements on banks have all threatened the viability of mortgage lending for the banks.