The latest data, for January, indicate a twelve-month contraction in lending to firms of around 3 per cent. The exceptional measures taken by the Eurosystem in 2011 and 2012 stopped the liquidity crisis from turning into a credit crunch, with ruinous consequences for the real economy.
Fluctuations in investor risk appetite are also an important factor influencing our exchange rate. The surge in global liquidity, and especially that associated with quantitative easing, has led to rising equity markets in several countries.