The situation got worse toward the end of last year, and there was growing concern that financial institutions’ behavior, including a credit crunch by institutions that struggle with funding, could further affect significantly the already stagnant real economy.
Strains have somewhat mitigated since the turn of the year, and yet vigilance is required In such a situation, the European Central Bank (ECB) implemented a measure last December to massively provide extraordinarily long-term funds, a loan period of three years, to the financial market.