The new requirements we are imposing, along with some other measures, including the recent extension of the guarantee on banks’ liabilities, place our banks in a stronger position to start lending again and to support economic recovery. As for the public finances, it remains critical that the government sticks firmly to the fiscal adjustment programme that it has embarked on.
In my view, these topics are integrally linked and, in light of current questions of confidence in America’s corporations, quite timely. Fourth and finally, I would also like to mention the proposal the Federal Reserve has issued for comment on changes to the discount window.