BIS Review 159/2008  5  The size of euro area insurers’ exposures to structured credit products differ considerable across institutions, as shown in Chart 15. In some cases, exposures to non-sub-prime structured credit products are rather large. This is a source of vulnerability in the event that the credit market problems were to affect also the valuations of prime or near-prime assetbacked securities.
The Japanese economy recorded strong quarter-on-quarter growth of 4.1% in the first quarter, but it remains too soon to assess the efficacy of the various stimulus measures that were adopted.