3 In the specific case of the current crisis, there are increasing concerns that its cost in terms of lost financial, physical and human capital all over the world may prove very substantial. As a result, the crisis may end up having a protracted impact on the rate of potential growth of a number of economies, including the euro area.
Significant banks' common equity tier one capital ratio stands at 15.3% on average, with liquidity well above regulatory minima. We have also seen improvements in the diversification of funding sources and bank profitability. At the same time, resilience of the euro area banking to the latest episode of stress should not lead to complacency.