Although total issuance of asset-backed securities by banks between January 2005 and August 2007 was more than seven times higher in the United States than in the euro area, monthly issuance in the euro area still reached EUR22 billion, on average. This shows that, although more pervasive in the United States, excess lending due to insufficiently regulated securitisation activities also affected the euro area.
The Bank's Conduct of Monetary Policy I would now like to explain the Bank's conduct of monetary policy (Chart 6).