Similarly, the BRICS countries signed the Contingent Reserve Arrangement Treaty in July 2014, which is a reserve-pooling arrangement to serve as a precautionary instrument that the BRICS countries can use in the event of short-term liquidity pressures. Mutual support will thus be provided, financial stability will be strengthened, and the treaty will complement and strengthen the global financial safety net and existing international arrangements.
As the global financial crisis broke and conventional policy space was exhausted, most central banks resorted to forward guidance as a means to provide additional accommodation. Some started purchasing government bonds and other securities. The ECB, for its part, tailored its non-standard measures to the structure of the euro area economy, where banks play a significant role in credit intermediation.