All that underscores the importance of a sound macroeconomic framework for fiscal and monetary policy, and of robust and well-managed banks. For us at the Reserve Bank, it also highlights the need for continual monitoring of the nature of the risks and the ways in which demand for finance, and the terms on which it is available, are changing.
This includes the supervisory tasks conferred to the ECB. Independence is a key element to avoid leniency to any type of political pressures. Such pressures would undermine the effectiveness of the supervisory actions, which should only be guided by economic and technical considerations.