At the other end of the spectrum would be a too prolonged downward departure of inflation and/or inflation expectations from our projected baseline scenario, for example due to the interaction between exchange rate developments and medium-term inflation expectations as I explained earlier. This would call for a more expansionary stance, which would be the context for a broad-based asset purchase programme.
An intermediate situation is one where credit supply constraints interfere with the transmission of monetary policy and impair the effects of our intended monetary stance. This would require targeted measures to help alleviate credit constraints. I would like to dwell shortly on this contingency because it relates to the important question of whether weak credit growth results from low credit demand or supply constraints.