Third, and most importantly, the responsibility for generating safe assets should not only fall on central banks, but on fiscal issuers – not necessarily by issuing more bonds, which may make them less safe, but by improving the credibility of their fiscal frameworks.
Third, several features of the collateral framework have been important, notably the wide range of eligible collateral, which has made it possible for banks (in their operations with the central bank) to economise on those few assets, such as government bonds, that have continued to be tradable throughout the turmoil.