In other words, our pledge to preserve favourable financing conditions shifts the focus from quantities – the amount of assets we purchase – towards prices – the conditions at which sovereigns, firms and households can access credit. During the first phase of the crisis, quantities were an end in themselves. They were necessary to restore market functioning and bring about appropriately accommodative financing conditions.
But let's not forget that the Basel III standards have not yet been fully implemented in European regulation. And in fact, current proposals to do so contain important deviations and transitional arrangements. Arrangements that, if adopted, could lead to inadequate capital coverage of some risks for a long time. The recent stress reminds us that this is something we should really think twice about.