Seite 9 von 18 Deutsche Bundesbank, Directorate General Communications Wilhelm-Epstein-Strasse 14, 60431 Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Tel. : +49 (0)69 9566 33511, Fax: +49 (0)69 9566 33077 presse@bundesbank.de, www.bundesbank.de Reproduction permitted only if source is stated. Chart 8  Mounting losses could lead to a tightening of the supply of credit.
This is because mounting losses mean write-downs on banks’ capital, and shrinking capital ratios. How banks respond depends on their capital buffers (chart 8). If banks use their buffers, this stabilises lending. If they try to maintain their capital ratios, loans would decline more sharply.