In the light of these testing circumstances, I would like to give some tentative answers – to four questions: Where do we stand? What are the strengths of the euro area? What’s next? What remains to be done? I will then offer some final remarks, and answer your questions. Where do we stand?
The European Central Bank has been in “crisis mode” for almost six years. The challenges for us have escalated in various stages. Allow me to recall them very briefly. •  The first stage was the financial turmoil that erupted in August 2007 when the US subprime mortgage crisis started to unravel.1 Globally, counterparty risks rose and confidence among market participants plummeted.