But, in about a month’s time, the Bank will release its annual accounts in which it will report a large accounting loss and negative equity. What I want to do now is to step through the main features of the Bank’s balance sheet and the 2021/22 outcomes. The Bank’s balance sheet is relatively simple.
So far, fiscal activism seems to have been reasonably well coordinated, timely and targeted. But the challenge of ensuring that the measures are temporary remains. The determination of euro area governments to avoid further fiscal stimuli is welcome. However, the current support measures cannot be sustained forever.