Finally, in late 1988, the Ministry of Finance proposed a solution in which a ceiling would be imposed on the growth of lending and a progressive tax imposed on lending in excess of that amount. The Bank of Finland first regarded the proposed tax as a return to a repressive regulation.
But finally it used the proposed tax as a threat to pull the banks into a voluntary agreement that gave the Bank of Finland a right to raise the cash reserve requirement of banks to a maximum of 12 %.