tax cuts, wage subsidies and short-time working schemes. At their maximum usage, such schemes covered, for example, Page 2 von 8  up to 15% of the workforce in Slovenia and Slovakia, up to 20% in Romania and about one-third in Croatia. Of course, the size of fiscal packages varied according to the fiscal space available. Monetary policy reacted as well.
In several countries quantitative easing via outright government bond purchases emerged as an important pillar of monetary policy. Moreover, macroprudential measures were adopted that cushioned the impact of the crisis on both banks and borrowers. The CESEE countries also introduced moratoria which played an important role in administering – metaphorically speaking – first aid.