[12] After a long period of low interest rates, low corporate insolvencies and accordingly low credit risk, the Bundesbank has particularly warned that future macroeconomic risks may be underestimated. Should risks to financial stability materialize, the causes and the role of central banks in maintaining financial stability would move into the limelight.
As a result, the annual headline inflation outcome for 2002 is expected to be around 15 percent, significantly higher than the 10 percent outcomes of 2000 and 2001.