After all, inflation was higher and unemployment was lower relative to the previous year. Moreover, policy actions are never free; they need to be evaluated based on a thorough analysis of costs and benefits.
Finally, one cannot ignore the issue of incentives in the financial industry, especially the system of employee compensation, which at some stage heavily rewarded sales volume and short-term profits at the expense of risk awareness and longerterm prudential analysis. There is no doubt that regulatory authorities and financial institutions alike have become more aware of the need for correcting the excesses of the past.