This difference in the flow of financing to the private sector partly explains the different techniques followed in the implementation of monetary policy on the two sides of the Atlantic. It may also explain the differences in the results achieved.
To be sure, the ability to consistently anchor inflation expectations throughout the crisis has enabled the ECB to effectively reduce real interest rates in the euro area, as shown in Chart 3, and thus to support economic activity. The second point is about the lessons that central banks can learn from the past to guide their future monetary policy.