Interest rates had never gone below zero in a major economy, and we did not know how purchasing government bonds would play out in our bank-based economy. These measures represented uncharted waters in which, by definition, the effects of our actions could not be known with certainty.
Effective consumer protection and financial literacy, especially with regards to price disclosure, are key in ensuring that lenders behave responsibly and ethically; and consumers, especially the poor, gain the capacity to use this information to make informed decisions about financial services in order to enhance their economic wellbeing.