It is only the starting-point of a difficult process that requires an ongoing monitoring and understanding of financial innovation and continuous attempts to sharpen and deepen our understanding of financial developments. Nor should monetary analysis, or the detection of the build-up of financial imbalances, be seen as an end in itself.
Monetary analysis is only useful insofar as it improves policy decisions and furthers the achievement of the ECB’s ultimate objective. The primary objective of the ECB is the maintenance of price stability in the euro area.