And when I went back to the remarks I gave here in the spring of last year, my impression was that the pace of events over the past year or so was indeed dramatic. In May last year I discussed two things. I discussed the challenges monetary policy faces when banks engage in rapid leveraging and deleveraging.
I noted that “the central bank may have to be vigilant that the pace of asset reduction by banks is commensurate with an evolution of income, activity, and employment that does not create downside risks to price stability”. And I discussed the long-term strategy of the ECB.