However, compared to the US, this increase in interest payments may happen more quickly, in view of the importance of variable-rate mortgages in some parts of the euro area. Furthermore, estimates of so called ‘wealthy-hand-to-mouth’ (i.e. households with significant illiquid wealth, limited liquid wealth and elevated debt) are consistently lower than in the US.
It is a distinct pleasure to be here, on my way back to Indonesia after attending the World Bank/IMF meeting in Washington DC. I would like to thank American Indonesian Chamber of Commerce for the invitation. 2. I also like to say that this event-theme namely “Managing ASIAN Risk” is timely and appealing.