The TAF is an auction through which a fixed amount of lending is offered to the banking system, and it seems to have been successful in avoiding the "stigma" problem and in helping funding markets return to more normal functioning. Markets were also aided by coordinated efforts to supply liquidity by several other central banks at the same time.
For these reasons, the euro area economy is expected to grow only at a moderate pace in 2010 and the recovery process could be uneven. The Governing Council continues to view the risks to this outlook as broadly balanced. On the upside, confidence may improve more than expected, and both the global economy and foreign trade may recover more strongly than projected.