These include the expansion of government guarantee schemes or direct provision of quick loans to firms. 4/5  BIS central bankers' speeches  On the back of these measures, Lithuania’s financial sector was able to withstand the COVID-19 shock. Some of the key indicators, such as the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio, might worsen – but we do not expect any dramatic developments.
Moreover, latest data suggests that lending to households has broadly returned to pre-COVID levels, while the reduced flow of credit for firms has so far been largely offset by state aid financial instruments. Overall, macroprudential policy has played a key part in the financial system being able to support the robust performance of the economy, rather than amplifying the shock.