I am therefore surprised to hear voices here and there arguing that policy-makers in the euro area were – or still are – “behind the curve”, have done too little, too late, and ought to have learnt more in terms of responsiveness from their colleagues in other parts of the world. I do not want to talk about this issue in any detail.
As a matter of fact, the epicentre of the current crisis lies outside the euro area, and the euro area has not had to deal with the failure of a major financial institution or a bank run.