The ability to respond to the challenges posed by the turmoil using the existing toolbox reflected three key features of the Eurosystem’s operational framework: (1) it grants access to central bank liquidity to a very large range of counterparties; (2) it accepts a rather wide spectrum of private and public collateral in its refinancing operations and marginal lending facility; and (3) it conducts open market operations on a relatively large scale, partly reflecting the level of reserve requirements.
Good morning ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank the organisers for the kind invitation to join you today and to Mr Mitropoulos for his introductory remarks. It is an honour to be here. Ten years on from the start of the great financial crisis, the Portuguese economy is in a growth phase.