The combination of relatively low interest rates for a long period of time, the trend to lay off credit risk out of balance sheets and to securitize and an increasing focus on short-term returns have led to a strong demand for credit risk, especially from nonbank investors. As a result credit spreads fell to all-time lows, leading to a mispricing of credit risks.
Having said this, I should like to stress that, in any case, the smooth conduct of the cash changeover will require particular efforts by all parties concerned, be they banks, businesses or citizens.