But this does not mean that we can dismiss all concerns about the rise in household debt. This is because some of the rise in the debt to income ratio was due to factors other than the fall in interest rates, and these factors may well have resulted in households taking on more risk, and in many cases a lot more than they recognise.
The rest of my talk will attempt to spell out these factors. BIS Review 17/2003  3  Other factors behind the rise in the debt to income ratio Lower inflation The other variable that has a quantifiable and mechanical effect on the debt to income ratio is the rate of inflation or, more precisely, the rate of increase of household incomes.