And since the last meeting of the Governing Council the positive news has continued. The tone was rather optimistic regarding growth, and rightly so. But, and this has to do with our mandate, the underlying inflationary pressure remains subdued. This is why we also stress that we should be patient and persistent regarding our monetary policy.
With the establishment of the Single Supervisory Mechanism, the ECB was given microand macroprudential responsibilities and powers. This set-up aims to ensure that the two policies are well coordinated. At the same time, the current macro-financial environment has become more challenging. The bleaker and more uncertain outlook can create strains for bank profitability.