BIS Review 123/2006  5  However, we should not forget that net savings would hardly have been positive if the real interest rate after tax had not also – in most cases – been positive, thus creating an incentive to save. The fixedexchange-rate policy has played a vital role since it has helped to keep inflation at bay.
Spreads have risen; the issuance of securitised portfolios of household loans has collapsed; corporate bond issuance has fallen (Charts 10-11). It is pretty clear that, for the time being, there has been an adverse shift in the supply of credit from the non-banking sector.