The margins are in the form of cash and government bonds ensuring the quality and liquidity of the settlement guarantee fund. One of the early lessons from our past experience that we incorporated in the policy framework was to be very careful about the vulnerabilities originating in the external sector.
There is no doubt that at the time when the pandemic hit the Eurozone, the banking system, as a whole, was financially sound with low NPLs, adequate capital levels and ample liquidity.