For euro area households debt service-to-income ratios are similar – around 14% – while the median household holds the equivalent of around two months’ income in liquid assets to cushion nominal income shocks. But importantly, this picture masks the heterogeneity mentioned previously.
I referred earlier to the evolution of central bank monetary policies and operations over the past fifty years by taking the experience of the Bank of Japan as an example. In considering these changes, I have realized once again the difficulty of reaching a universal definition for such a unique organization as a central bank.