Note: Figures for the United States and the euro area are for the CPI for all items, while those for Japan are for the CPI for all items less fresh food. The pre-pandemic distribution for Japan is based on data for September 2019, which was before the CPI developments were affected by the consumption tax hike.
Consumers turn to banks for safe investments such as time and savings deposits, for transactions deposits, for processing payments, and for short- and long-term credit. Large and small businesses rely on banks for payment processing, short-term credit, and backup credit BIS Review 13/1997  -3-  lines.