We have narrowed the interest rate corridor to 50 basis points which helps reduce fragmentation between banks that rely on ECB liquidity and those that can borrow in the interbank market. And last week, unanimously, the Governing Council took the important step to introduce forward guidance within our two pillar monetary strategy.
We expect the key interest rates to remain at present or lower levels for an extended period of time. Consistently, liquidity will remain ample. Second, we have introduced a series of measures to ensure that banks can pass on these low interest rates in the real economy, in particular where they are needed the most.