The voluntary reimbursement of liquidity can be interpreted as a good sign, as it largely reflects normalisation in banks’ funding conditions. When we explore the determinants of reimbursements, we see that it comes together with a measurable return of retail lending to banks that had long suffered loss of funding, and, for some of them, even a timid resurgence of wholesale borrowing activity.
If these developments lead to a persistent tightening of financial conditions, they could signal a slowing in the global economy that could affect growth and inflation in the United States. But we have seen similar periods of volatility in recent years that have left little permanent imprint on the economy.