And equally, it’s fair to say that the “shoal of savings banks” has navigated the choppy waters of the financial crisis pretty well – aided not least by the savings banks association’s compartmentalised structure. Germany’s savings banks are generally highly trusted institutions, not least on account of their strong commitment to their local area and their close, often long-term customer relations.
During this crisis monetary policy has had a strong stabilizing role during the crisis in all advanced countries. In 2008 and 2009 policy rates were quickly lowered to historically low levels in the United States, United Kingdom and also in the euro area. In addition, many central banks have used unconventional monetary policy tools. As a result, central bank balance sheets have grown.