As Japan teaches, permanent stagnation brings decades of zero or even negative returns for savers. Standard and non-standard action As I anticipated already, at our last meeting in November we reduced the main refinancing rate to a record low of 0.25%. The reduction in our main policy rate to 0.25% can introduce additional accommodation through two channels.
First, under forward guidance, its diffusion across the whole spectrum of term rates in the money market has been empowered. Monetary policy decisions are effective only to the extent that they affect interest rates at longer maturities, starting from those longer-term rates that banks determine in their interbank transactions.