As responses to COVID-19, the Bank, in cooperation with the government, has taken measures to shore up the economy since 2020. The government has promoted credit guarantees as well as effectively interest-free and unsecured loans to support financial institutions in extending credit, while the Bank has conducted the COVID-19 Special Operations, among other measures.
Thanks in part to all these measures, firms' financial conditions remain accommodative on the whole so far. Although some firms are facing tight financing, the number of corporate bankruptcies has been at an extremely low level. I believe that the Bank's policy responses, coupled with those by the government, have been effective in propping up the economy.