Chart 1 shows a snapshot of the relative calm, before the recent storm, for BBB corporate spreads for the euro area and the US as well as 10 year sovereign bond spreads (relative to the Bund) for a number of euro-area countries. To a large extent, the positive trend in macroeconomic growth and stability and the low and stable credit premia are closely related.
II.2  From US sub-prime turmoil to the global financial crisis  The protracted period of tranquillity was abruptly brought to an end by the collapse of the US housing bubble and the subsequent implosion of the sub-prime mortgage market. In the early stages, the financial turmoil was circumscribed so that it was very difficult to assess its severity.