While the process of repairing the banking sector should improve the credit supply, falling real interest rates should support demand for credit by encouraging higher business investment, thus fostering a virtuous circle of higher spending, growth and inflation.
For example, my next slide shows that despite favourable financing conditions, in recent years growth and job creation here in Centre-Val de Loire have been lagging behind developments in many other euro area regions. You can see this on my next slide. To some extent, the gap has even been widening.