Lenders, for their part, should make it possible for consumers to engage in shopping for a mortgage. As I noted, last September the federal financial institution regulators issued interagency guidance on nontraditional mortgage products, which included both a focus on safe and sound lending practices as well as on consumer awareness and consumer protection.
Addendum: Recent Discussion on Fiscal Policy Measures Concluding Remarks 4  Chart 3  Japan's Inflation Expectations and Potential Growth Rates y/y % chg.  y/y % chg.  3.0  Inflation expectations (left scale)  2.5  Potential growth rate (right scale)  5  4  3 2.0 2 1.5 1 1.0 0 0.5  -1  0.0 CY 90  -2 91  92  93  94  95  96  97  98  99  00  01  02  03  04  05  06  07  08  09  10  11  12  13  14  15  Note: Figures for inflation expectations are the expectations for the CPI 6-10 years ahead and are based on the "Consensus Forecasts."