I would thus caution against using monetary policy instruments to limit risk premia, as it is virtually impossible to establish for sure whether or not a widened spread is fundamentally justified. One can easily find oneself in dire straits. Monetary policy must not be driven by what are often very short-lived developments in the financial markets.
Short-term price movements in the financial markets are not a suitable yardstick for monetary policy. For, in order to maintain price stability, monetary policy pursues a medium-term inflation target, and for good reason. For me, it is clear that unusual monetary policy measures to combat fragmentation can be justified only in exceptional circumstances and under narrowly-defined conditions.