Central banks have cooperated very closely during the crisis: through an important coordinated interest rate cut in October 2008; provision of swap lines; continuous information exchange; and overall actions that have been mutually consistent. In particular, the overriding objective of medium-term price stability has never been lost from sight.
Both interest rate policy and non-standard measures have taken account of the prevailing specific circumstances: first, the financial and economic structure of each economy; second, the magnitude and specificity of shocks; third, the different operational frameworks of different central banks; and fourth, the different institutional settings in which they operate. For these four reasons, comparisons across constituencies have their limits.